center
Kovu
i'Beware the betrayer whose meaning is strife.'
-The Verse in the book 'The Sight', by David Clement-Davies./i
/center
"Kovu," Kiara said gently, nuzzling the dark lion from his sleep. "Kovu, wake up."
"Uh...Wha?" the brute woke up sleepily, and blinked his eyes before looking at Kiara, who was giggling immensely. "What?"
"You've forgotten, haven't you?"
"What, Kiara?"
"Today is when my father shall see you, out in the golden plain," the queen-to-be said with a smile, gesturing at the exit of the cave with her muzzle. "He left earlier on."
Kovu looked nervously out there and confided in Kiara quietly. "Kiara, your father seems nice and all, but he didn't really talk to me. I don't think he still trusts me."
"Nonsense, Kovu. Everything will be fine, you both just need some time alone. Go on now," the fae said with a confident smile.
"Yeah, yeah," Kovu muttered as he left the cave, flashing the same smile back at Kiara, though with a drooped tail and pinned ears he didn't look too confident. Being woken up in the middle of the night to meet Simba wasn't exactly what he expected, and he was very, very much late.
As the dark pelted brujo descended from pride rock and headed in the direction of the golden plain, one of the pride's favored hunting grounds, thoughts reeled about in his mind. True, Simba had accepted him as the mate of his daughter and future prince of the pride, but did the king truly trust him as, well... his 'son'? It had been many moons since the time he was officially part of the pride, but hardly a word had passed between them except some curt nods in greeting. Kovu came to the waterhole and stared into the water, gazing at his own reflection, his dark pelt and black mane and the scar on his eye that made him so much like his father- he had noticed clearly the cold looks that some of the original lionesses of the pride here constantly gave him, but Sarabi remained gentle with him. Zazu didn't seem to keen on him either, and Kovu knew that the bird's thoughts usually followed the king's. Would Simba realize that these dark natures were only skin-deep, that Scar was now as much Kovu's bitter enemy as he was Simba's?
He realized in surprise that he had already stumbled upon the Golden Plain, and he could see, perched on a rock and gazing at the stars, a magnificent lion with a pelt of gold and a red mane- Simba.
"Simba...?"
"Kovu," snapped the king's voice, sounding rather annoyed. "You're late."
Kovu's ears flattened against his skull as he seated himself down, staring at the king's back, unable to tell what Simba was feeling. "Sorry, Simba," he mumbled, feeling like a reprimanded cub.
The king's head turned in his direction, and to Kovu's utter surprise there was a gentle, good-humored smile on his muzzle. "Come here, Kovu."
The dark lion, hiding his pleasure and surprise padded up to Simba and still stared at the ground in shame for forgetting their appointment, mumbling "Sorry,Simba" again in apology. Simba smiled. "No need to be so serious, my son," the king said in a rather fatherly tone, and Kovu's ears perked up in surprise, though he kept his gaze fixated to the ground. "You are my son, Kovu, and I am your father, for your mate is my daughter."
Kovu remained silent.
"Does your mind still linger on the things so long ago, my son?" Simba said gently, practically plucking the thoughts and doubts from the prince's mind. "It has been done, Kovu, and it cannot be undone, and we must carry on with our lives. So long as you do not betray anyone from the pridelands again, you will be accepted here, and you are my son."
"Thanks, Dad," Kovu said, apparently still staring at the ground.
Kovu growled in surprise as there was a loud roar and Simba pounced on top of the dark lion in a playful sprawl. They laughed and growled as they batted each other with their paws, tails twitching playfully and the stronger and more experienced Simba pinned Kovu to the ground with a playful grin, twitching his tail in satisfaction and releasing Kovu. "Have you ever seen the plains in up close at night, Kovu?" Seeing the prince shake his head, Simba smiled. "Well, stand up and see."
Kovu stood up and his jaw dropped. The sheer beauty of the endless plains of flowing gold, rippling gently and shimmering in the soft moonlight and the dark silhouettes of some giraffes standing by the umbrella thorn trees beyond the fields was incredible. Simba smiled and nudged him gently. "I believe you still haven't truly been around the lands, have you? Come, my son- let us take a nice walk around."
As the two lions padded calmly towards the gentle snoozing giraffes, Simba showed the future king the lay of the land. Secret caves that Kovu had never noticed before and an in-depth sight to even the waterhole which he frequented often. The king showed him the prairie dog fields which played host to a large prairie dog town that made it an excellent hunting area and many places the prince had never been to before. Kovu watched Simba in amazement- the king seemed to take pride in the very land which he called his own, and he seemed to be familiar with every single rock and tree and flower that existed within. After Simba showed him the wildebeest's favored grazing field above the Great Gorge, Simba took him to the gorge itself, showing him the rock and the tree which he knew so well, though by now a bitter hate and the past were beginning to show in his eyes. Kovu, sensing this, immediately guided Simba to a crevice in which he, Kiara, Timon and Pumba had hid in once, and the king was glad for a distraction from his memories. Simba took him as far as the land behind the spiny wood and the forests beyond, the pool of ancestry that Rafiki had shown him so long ago.
The pair eventually ended up on a rather high rock beside the waterhole, laughing and joking as though there had been no foul word between them, barely noticing the rising sun.
"Kovu," Simba said as seriousness fell over his eyes, "As you know, my son, you are the future king..."
The dark lion nodded, wondering why Simba was talking about this now.
"The sun is setting on my time, Kovu," he said, ignoring Kovu's slight gasp in surprise- from what he had seen and heard, Kovu had almost convinced himself that the king was immortal. "I can feel it in my bones- I am becoming old, and one day the sun will rise upon Pride Rock with you as it's king- or perhaps I will step down should I survive that long, for the pride needs a new ruler and I cannot be the ruler forever..."
Kovu listened silently- he knew the time would come, but Simba was talking about it as if it was coming soon... too soon. "I am sorry, my son, for all the times I have chosen to place my trust in others rather than who is now rightfully my own son... for now, Kovu, you have my trust."
Kovu's eyes widened in both gratitude and joy and no words could have described his feelings then, and all he could do was nod. Simba smiled.
"Look upon these lands, Kovu, everything that the light touches-and know them well... for one day they shall be yours..." the king said with a smile. The early dawn light was beginning to spread.
Kovu did just that and his eyes eventually strayed onto the outlands, and a dark shadow came upon the bright amber orbs. Simba, sensing the prince's emotion, said in a concerned tone, "The outlands, Kovu, forget them. They are home to naught but a few lions now, and those are the truly evil ones who have refused to seek the light in the pridelands- and they play host to hyenas, bloodthirsty savages."
Kovu nodded, but he said quietly, "Father... it is still where I was born."
Simba paused for awhile, then nodded understandingly. "Very well, Kovu. I shall take my leave- but do not return too late nor stray too far. Perhaps when you return we shall have a hunt- the first pride hunt you shall partake in."
Kovu flushed with pride and joy, but he it vanished again as he continued staring at what was once his home.
"I trust you, Kovu- do not get yourself in trouble."
He nodded to Simba and the king took his leave, padding off towards Pride Rock, and Kovu crossed the river to the dark lands. It was amazing the different worlds that were separated by nothing but a body of water, the lush carpets of grass and endless places to explore on one side and the harsh, cruel lands on the other.
"Hey, hey! Someone's crossed the river," came a hyena's snicker from behind a rock.
"You'd think they'd know better than to cross the boundary now, eh Ed?"
'Ed'! Kovu knew that name, he recognized that voice- and he even found the blank harsh breathing that returned seemed oddly familiar.
"Shenzi? Banzaii?"
"Kovu?" came two rather surprised voices. Three silhouettes emerged from behind the rock, and the three hyenas emerged.
Kovu growled. Bloodthirsty savages, part of his past... he snarled and dug his claws into the ground. "Get away from me."
"Hey, hey, relax ol' buddy!" Banzaii said. "Boy, Vari'd be glad to know yore back and all. And Shenzi even wanted to have a word with you lions if she gets approved by Vari-"the hyena was silenced with a yelp by a quick blow to the jaw, leaving three scratch marks.
"Cool it, Kovu. I was thinking of strutting right over there and tell them to give us a break- I mean, what right do they have to call us bloodthirsty savages and label us bad guys?" Shenzi said, keeping well out of Kovu's reach.
'hyenas, bloodthirsty savages.' Simba's words echoed back in his mind so clearly that he flicked his ear in annoyance. He snarled again, attempting to banish childhood memories of training with this trio when he was a cub. "You have no right."
"And if they don't agree they could be startin' a whole new war. Us Hyenas aren't gonna take it lyin' down, O no..." Shenzi continued, sounding as though she hadn't heard Kovu's low growl.
Kovu snarled again, backing off towards the water, his tail twitching in annoyance, and he eventually turned and leapt into the water, swimming for the pridelands, but even with his ears pinned flat against his skull as he surfaced on the other side, he could not block out Shenzi's words.
"And if a war happens, we can count on you t' be on our side, right ol' pal? Remember the pact?"
Kovu ran at a full speed towards pride rock, the sun's light shinning high above him and the deer and birds in his path, woken to feed, scattering before him. Memories were flooding back into his mind, memories that he had worked so hard to banish.
/i "Hey, Kovu!"
"Shenzi, Banzaii! And... Ed."/i
He growled, fleeing wildly towards the vague direction in which he knew was pride rock, his ears flicking back and forth.
i"Haha! Hey, Kovu, Banzaii, Ed, we're all friends forever, right?"
"Yeah, Kovu, when you're king of the pridelands you'll remember us, right?"/i
He ran headlong towards Pride Rock looming up in the distance, searching for anything in his mind for him to focus on.
i"Tell you what, lets make a pact."
"A what, Shenzi?"
"A pact, Banzaii, you oafhead."
"Oh!"
"I swear by the shadow that is cast upon the outlands that we three shall never betray one another and remain friends forever."
"I swear!"
"Kovu?"
"Me too!"
"Ed?"
"Gwoooaaargh!"
"Heh, I take that as a yes... the pact is made..."/i
He growled. The pact, the pact, how could he have forgotten? Oh yes, over all this time when his training had intensified...i
"And nothing can ever break it."/i
A possible war between hyenas and the lions- whose side will he stand on? The pact, his honor of being with the pride and his honor of the pact- both loyalty... betray his friends or his pride?
i "I trust you, Kovu- do not get yourself in trouble."/i
Simba's words... was he going to betray the trust that he had so recently earned? Without realizing it, Kovu had come upon pride rock and crashed into Kiara, and eventually instinctively held her down in a pin.
Kiara laughed and stood up, smiling. "Kovu, glad everything worked out fine with father- he's even organized your first official pride hunt. Even he's coming along!"
Kovu breathed heavily, brought back to the present by Kiara's voice. "Yeah... everything worked out fine."
Kovu
i'Beware the betrayer whose meaning is strife.'
-The Verse in the book 'The Sight', by David Clement-Davies./i
/center
"Kovu," Kiara said gently, nuzzling the dark lion from his sleep. "Kovu, wake up."
"Uh...Wha?" the brute woke up sleepily, and blinked his eyes before looking at Kiara, who was giggling immensely. "What?"
"You've forgotten, haven't you?"
"What, Kiara?"
"Today is when my father shall see you, out in the golden plain," the queen-to-be said with a smile, gesturing at the exit of the cave with her muzzle. "He left earlier on."
Kovu looked nervously out there and confided in Kiara quietly. "Kiara, your father seems nice and all, but he didn't really talk to me. I don't think he still trusts me."
"Nonsense, Kovu. Everything will be fine, you both just need some time alone. Go on now," the fae said with a confident smile.
"Yeah, yeah," Kovu muttered as he left the cave, flashing the same smile back at Kiara, though with a drooped tail and pinned ears he didn't look too confident. Being woken up in the middle of the night to meet Simba wasn't exactly what he expected, and he was very, very much late.
As the dark pelted brujo descended from pride rock and headed in the direction of the golden plain, one of the pride's favored hunting grounds, thoughts reeled about in his mind. True, Simba had accepted him as the mate of his daughter and future prince of the pride, but did the king truly trust him as, well... his 'son'? It had been many moons since the time he was officially part of the pride, but hardly a word had passed between them except some curt nods in greeting. Kovu came to the waterhole and stared into the water, gazing at his own reflection, his dark pelt and black mane and the scar on his eye that made him so much like his father- he had noticed clearly the cold looks that some of the original lionesses of the pride here constantly gave him, but Sarabi remained gentle with him. Zazu didn't seem to keen on him either, and Kovu knew that the bird's thoughts usually followed the king's. Would Simba realize that these dark natures were only skin-deep, that Scar was now as much Kovu's bitter enemy as he was Simba's?
He realized in surprise that he had already stumbled upon the Golden Plain, and he could see, perched on a rock and gazing at the stars, a magnificent lion with a pelt of gold and a red mane- Simba.
"Simba...?"
"Kovu," snapped the king's voice, sounding rather annoyed. "You're late."
Kovu's ears flattened against his skull as he seated himself down, staring at the king's back, unable to tell what Simba was feeling. "Sorry, Simba," he mumbled, feeling like a reprimanded cub.
The king's head turned in his direction, and to Kovu's utter surprise there was a gentle, good-humored smile on his muzzle. "Come here, Kovu."
The dark lion, hiding his pleasure and surprise padded up to Simba and still stared at the ground in shame for forgetting their appointment, mumbling "Sorry,Simba" again in apology. Simba smiled. "No need to be so serious, my son," the king said in a rather fatherly tone, and Kovu's ears perked up in surprise, though he kept his gaze fixated to the ground. "You are my son, Kovu, and I am your father, for your mate is my daughter."
Kovu remained silent.
"Does your mind still linger on the things so long ago, my son?" Simba said gently, practically plucking the thoughts and doubts from the prince's mind. "It has been done, Kovu, and it cannot be undone, and we must carry on with our lives. So long as you do not betray anyone from the pridelands again, you will be accepted here, and you are my son."
"Thanks, Dad," Kovu said, apparently still staring at the ground.
Kovu growled in surprise as there was a loud roar and Simba pounced on top of the dark lion in a playful sprawl. They laughed and growled as they batted each other with their paws, tails twitching playfully and the stronger and more experienced Simba pinned Kovu to the ground with a playful grin, twitching his tail in satisfaction and releasing Kovu. "Have you ever seen the plains in up close at night, Kovu?" Seeing the prince shake his head, Simba smiled. "Well, stand up and see."
Kovu stood up and his jaw dropped. The sheer beauty of the endless plains of flowing gold, rippling gently and shimmering in the soft moonlight and the dark silhouettes of some giraffes standing by the umbrella thorn trees beyond the fields was incredible. Simba smiled and nudged him gently. "I believe you still haven't truly been around the lands, have you? Come, my son- let us take a nice walk around."
As the two lions padded calmly towards the gentle snoozing giraffes, Simba showed the future king the lay of the land. Secret caves that Kovu had never noticed before and an in-depth sight to even the waterhole which he frequented often. The king showed him the prairie dog fields which played host to a large prairie dog town that made it an excellent hunting area and many places the prince had never been to before. Kovu watched Simba in amazement- the king seemed to take pride in the very land which he called his own, and he seemed to be familiar with every single rock and tree and flower that existed within. After Simba showed him the wildebeest's favored grazing field above the Great Gorge, Simba took him to the gorge itself, showing him the rock and the tree which he knew so well, though by now a bitter hate and the past were beginning to show in his eyes. Kovu, sensing this, immediately guided Simba to a crevice in which he, Kiara, Timon and Pumba had hid in once, and the king was glad for a distraction from his memories. Simba took him as far as the land behind the spiny wood and the forests beyond, the pool of ancestry that Rafiki had shown him so long ago.
The pair eventually ended up on a rather high rock beside the waterhole, laughing and joking as though there had been no foul word between them, barely noticing the rising sun.
"Kovu," Simba said as seriousness fell over his eyes, "As you know, my son, you are the future king..."
The dark lion nodded, wondering why Simba was talking about this now.
"The sun is setting on my time, Kovu," he said, ignoring Kovu's slight gasp in surprise- from what he had seen and heard, Kovu had almost convinced himself that the king was immortal. "I can feel it in my bones- I am becoming old, and one day the sun will rise upon Pride Rock with you as it's king- or perhaps I will step down should I survive that long, for the pride needs a new ruler and I cannot be the ruler forever..."
Kovu listened silently- he knew the time would come, but Simba was talking about it as if it was coming soon... too soon. "I am sorry, my son, for all the times I have chosen to place my trust in others rather than who is now rightfully my own son... for now, Kovu, you have my trust."
Kovu's eyes widened in both gratitude and joy and no words could have described his feelings then, and all he could do was nod. Simba smiled.
"Look upon these lands, Kovu, everything that the light touches-and know them well... for one day they shall be yours..." the king said with a smile. The early dawn light was beginning to spread.
Kovu did just that and his eyes eventually strayed onto the outlands, and a dark shadow came upon the bright amber orbs. Simba, sensing the prince's emotion, said in a concerned tone, "The outlands, Kovu, forget them. They are home to naught but a few lions now, and those are the truly evil ones who have refused to seek the light in the pridelands- and they play host to hyenas, bloodthirsty savages."
Kovu nodded, but he said quietly, "Father... it is still where I was born."
Simba paused for awhile, then nodded understandingly. "Very well, Kovu. I shall take my leave- but do not return too late nor stray too far. Perhaps when you return we shall have a hunt- the first pride hunt you shall partake in."
Kovu flushed with pride and joy, but he it vanished again as he continued staring at what was once his home.
"I trust you, Kovu- do not get yourself in trouble."
He nodded to Simba and the king took his leave, padding off towards Pride Rock, and Kovu crossed the river to the dark lands. It was amazing the different worlds that were separated by nothing but a body of water, the lush carpets of grass and endless places to explore on one side and the harsh, cruel lands on the other.
"Hey, hey! Someone's crossed the river," came a hyena's snicker from behind a rock.
"You'd think they'd know better than to cross the boundary now, eh Ed?"
'Ed'! Kovu knew that name, he recognized that voice- and he even found the blank harsh breathing that returned seemed oddly familiar.
"Shenzi? Banzaii?"
"Kovu?" came two rather surprised voices. Three silhouettes emerged from behind the rock, and the three hyenas emerged.
Kovu growled. Bloodthirsty savages, part of his past... he snarled and dug his claws into the ground. "Get away from me."
"Hey, hey, relax ol' buddy!" Banzaii said. "Boy, Vari'd be glad to know yore back and all. And Shenzi even wanted to have a word with you lions if she gets approved by Vari-"the hyena was silenced with a yelp by a quick blow to the jaw, leaving three scratch marks.
"Cool it, Kovu. I was thinking of strutting right over there and tell them to give us a break- I mean, what right do they have to call us bloodthirsty savages and label us bad guys?" Shenzi said, keeping well out of Kovu's reach.
'hyenas, bloodthirsty savages.' Simba's words echoed back in his mind so clearly that he flicked his ear in annoyance. He snarled again, attempting to banish childhood memories of training with this trio when he was a cub. "You have no right."
"And if they don't agree they could be startin' a whole new war. Us Hyenas aren't gonna take it lyin' down, O no..." Shenzi continued, sounding as though she hadn't heard Kovu's low growl.
Kovu snarled again, backing off towards the water, his tail twitching in annoyance, and he eventually turned and leapt into the water, swimming for the pridelands, but even with his ears pinned flat against his skull as he surfaced on the other side, he could not block out Shenzi's words.
"And if a war happens, we can count on you t' be on our side, right ol' pal? Remember the pact?"
Kovu ran at a full speed towards pride rock, the sun's light shinning high above him and the deer and birds in his path, woken to feed, scattering before him. Memories were flooding back into his mind, memories that he had worked so hard to banish.
/i "Hey, Kovu!"
"Shenzi, Banzaii! And... Ed."/i
He growled, fleeing wildly towards the vague direction in which he knew was pride rock, his ears flicking back and forth.
i"Haha! Hey, Kovu, Banzaii, Ed, we're all friends forever, right?"
"Yeah, Kovu, when you're king of the pridelands you'll remember us, right?"/i
He ran headlong towards Pride Rock looming up in the distance, searching for anything in his mind for him to focus on.
i"Tell you what, lets make a pact."
"A what, Shenzi?"
"A pact, Banzaii, you oafhead."
"Oh!"
"I swear by the shadow that is cast upon the outlands that we three shall never betray one another and remain friends forever."
"I swear!"
"Kovu?"
"Me too!"
"Ed?"
"Gwoooaaargh!"
"Heh, I take that as a yes... the pact is made..."/i
He growled. The pact, the pact, how could he have forgotten? Oh yes, over all this time when his training had intensified...i
"And nothing can ever break it."/i
A possible war between hyenas and the lions- whose side will he stand on? The pact, his honor of being with the pride and his honor of the pact- both loyalty... betray his friends or his pride?
i "I trust you, Kovu- do not get yourself in trouble."/i
Simba's words... was he going to betray the trust that he had so recently earned? Without realizing it, Kovu had come upon pride rock and crashed into Kiara, and eventually instinctively held her down in a pin.
Kiara laughed and stood up, smiling. "Kovu, glad everything worked out fine with father- he's even organized your first official pride hunt. Even he's coming along!"
Kovu breathed heavily, brought back to the present by Kiara's voice. "Yeah... everything worked out fine."