Title: Kiara
Author: Queen Serenity
Fandom: The Lion King
Chapter: Four
Kiara followed Mufasa until they could hear two voices in the distance. As they got near to the voices, one of them sounded suddenly panicked and Mufasa picked up his pace, causing the cub behind him to have to run to catch up. Coming up behind him, Kiara could see another, more darkly colored lion standing there, not noticing them, looking like it had its mouth full. Mufasa called out, sounding stern. "Scar!"
Scar looked up in surprise, but couldn't speak with his mouth full. "Mmm- hmmm?"
"Drop him."
A beak stuck itself out of Scar's mouth and spoke, sounding relieved. "Impeccable timing, your Majesty."
Scar lowered his head and opened his mouth, allowing a bird, a hornbill to be exact, to drop from his mouth to the ground, disgustingly covered in saliva. Zazu looked at himself, making a disgusted sound. "Errrah."
Scar spoke, a sarcastic tone to his 'overjoyed' voice. "Why, if it isn't my big brother, descending from on high to mingle with the commoners!" He paused, and his eyes caught on Kiara, who was hiding behind Mufasa. "Ahh, and who is this young thing? Can't be your new cub, she's far too big."
Mufasa nodded. "No, she's not mine. She belongs to the Pride now. Her name is Kiara, and she just joined the Pride today."
Scar sneered. "An orphan, huh? Let us hope that she does not grow up to be dead weight for our 'Pride'. She's rather scrawny looking…"
Kiara stepped out from behind Mufasa to stand in front of him. "I am not scrawny-looking. In fact, you're one to be calling me scrawny… you want scrawny, try looking at your reflection in the water!"
Scar's eyes narrowed and he snarled. He moved forward and brought his paw back, obviously intending the cuff the cub, but Mufasa jumped between them. Kiara, safely behind Mufasa's back legs, poked her head out to stick her tongue out at Scar. Scar spoke, sounding casual. "If she's going to be part of our Pride, my dear brother, you might want to teach the insolent little thing some manners…"
Mufasa's eyes narrowed at this, and he moved to block Kiara from Scar's view. "That is not your concern, Scar. You have other things to worry about… Sarabi and I didn't see you at the presentation of Simba."
Scar feigned astonishment. "That was today? Oh, I feel simply awful." He turned and scraped his claws down the rocky wall, causing Kiara to cringe and cover her ears with her paws. Finishing, he admired his now-sharpened claws. "Must have slipped my mind."
Zazu spoke, sounding admonishing. "Well, as slippery as your mind is, as the king's brother, you should have been first in line!" Scar clicked his teeth at Zazu, who took cover behind Mufasa's front leg. Scar bent down to speak to him. "Well, I was first in line… until the little hairball was born."
Kiara move forward to behind Mufasa's other foreleg to glare at Scar, and Mufasa lowered his head to eye-level with his brother. "That hairball is myson… and your future king."
"Ohh, I shall practice my curtsy." The sneer in Scar's voice was evident. He turned away and started to leave, and Mufasa spoke.
"Don't turn your back on me, Scar!"
At this, the darker-colored lion looked back. "Oh, no, Mufasa. Perhaps you shouldn't turn your back on me."
Kiara watched, wide-eyed, as Mufasa roared and jumped in Scar's path, blocking him. He growled, his teeth bared, "Is that a challenge?"
Scar rolled his eyes. "Temper, temper. I wouldn't dream of challenging you."
Zazu frowned at this. "Pity! Why not?"
Scar looked at Zazu. "Well, as far as brains go, I got the lion's share. But, when it comes to brute strength," He looked to Mufasa. "I'm afraid I'm at the shallow end of the gene pool." He turned and left, walking away nonchalantly.
Mufasa looked at Kiara, frowning. "As you can see, Dear, not all of my Pride are the most friendly. You can rest assured, though, that Scar is the only one you'll have to deal with…"
Kiara smiled, showing off her eye teeth. "Don't worry about it, Highness. No matter where you go, there'll always be a bully or two."
Zazu flew over to land on Mufasa's shoulder, letting out a deep sigh. "There's one in every family, Sire… two in mine, actually. And they always manage to ruin special occasions."
Mufasa sighed. "What am I going to do with him?"
At this, Kiara spoke at the same time as Zazu, and they said, in unison, "He'd make a very handsome throw rug."
A look of shock came over Mufasa's face. "Zazu! Kiara!"
Zazu continued, "And just think! Whenever he gets dirty, you could take him out and beat him."
The three animals walked off together, laughing merrily at the joke.
