Power Of Three

Disclaimer: If I owned 'The Lion King,' d'you honestly think I'd be writing about the movie?

A/N: First TLK fiction ever. Don't you DARE run, though. The characters are based on these three animations I saw from this one page. They had a few similarities and it was just too good to pass up. Enjoy!

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Three siblings, one land, a whole mission to fulfill.

After our father died, the three of us could only deal with our nightmares and comfort each other. We had received nothing but pity from the other lions. After all, orphans were the very bottom of the food chain, despite their species. Fura has done his best to keep us together and sane, but seeing the deaths of both your parents made any effort at all pointless.

Aunt Vitani repeatedly told us to look to the stars at night. She said our parents, grandparents, and all the other kings of the past would look down on us and protect us. I remember always trying to find the brightest stars, because she said that the best kinds and queens were the brightest stars in the skies, and our parents couldn't have been better. Mom always played with us and taught us the right things, and Dad would always tease and train with us. I missed them. So did Ghara. Fura never said anything on the topic, always playing deaf when it was brought up, but I bet he missed them, too.

The funny thing is, not many thought us to be the children of Kovu and Kiara, but we were. We looked nothing like them. I was tan with a thick black mane that only covered the back of my neck, two cut-like markings across my right eye, two gold-tipped feathers tucked behind my right ear, and sky blue eyes. Not exactly the best thing to look at.

Ghara was the prettiest lioness I've ever seen. A silvery coat of fur with a strange marking on her left hip. She has a bright blue-tipped feather behind her right ear. She's very sweet and tries to keep us all happy through these hard times.

Fura. He's the oldest and probably the best brother I could ever ask for. He doesn't say much at all, but he really cares about us and takes good care of us. It's a shame he has to rule the Pridelands with Zazu's help at such a young age. Ever since he was born, he's had this dark blue fur. Rafiki used to say it was the sign of a rare leader, so he marked him with these silvery symbols under his eyes and on his left hip. He, too, has gold-tipped feathers, one behind each ear.

From what I've learned from Zazu, Rafiki each gave us our special marking to determine our future and to give us a special blessing. Mine stand for intelligence, Ghara's for beauty and wisdom, and Fura's stand for strength, leadership, and wisdom.

As I've said, we've been left to our own devices here. Though I don't really understand what's going on, Fura tried to explain how the hyenas have apparently come back. No one knows, though, because the corpses we've found only have been slashed. I hope we can find out what's going on... any one of us could be next.

I suppose it would be best if I start from the beginning, though. Then I'll go into the present.

"Ghara, what's wrong?" Fura asked, running over to her.

Sobbing, she started to explain that she'd been going to get a drink and she tripped over something on the path. When she went to see what she had tripped over, it was a brown tail. Searching in the reeds, she was scared out of her mind when she discovered our father lying lifelessy in the reeds, slashed and mangled. Screaming, she had sprinted back to Pride Rock and dragged Aunt Vitani, Zazu, and even old Rafiki to come see what was going on, in hopes that he was okay. Mom had died just recently about the same way, and it was something of a major disaster for her to see it directly.

Fura and I exchanged glances, and we both hugged her. "It's all right, Ghara," I said, hugging her tightly. "Dad'll be okay."

She looked at me with those big eyes full of tears, and I felt like I sentenced myself to death. "I... I don't know, Kalit. He looked very bad..."

I went to say something else, but Fura shot me a glance and I had to be quiet.

Clinking on stone caught our attention and I looked up to see old Rafiki gesture to Fura. Worried, Ghara and I followed Fura's movements to meet the ancient baboon.

Five minutes felt like 10 years as we sat there and watched them talk in hushed tones. Eventually, Fura nodded and started back. I relaxed, having been so tensed up.But I soon realized that it wasn't good news. Fura's face was... undescribable. His eyes were wide, his mouth hanging open slightly. When he sat down, it was heavy and with no thought to it.

"...Fura?" Ghara asked, moving to comfort him. I looked to my older siblings and followed Ghara's motions.

"...He's dead..."

"No..." I looked to Ghara, and she was just as stunned as Fura as the word left her mouth. Obviously had she wishing hope against hope for everything to be okay. I was too, but no emotions would come. It was like a wall.

"...But... how?" I muttered, sinking to the cave floor.

"Rafiki said that he was ambushed about six to one..." Fura gulped, looking straight at the floor in front of him.

Ghara and I exchanged a glance. We were alone now. It was just the three of us. First Grandma and Grandpa, then Mom, now Dad.

"We'll... We'll get through this," I sighed, huddling closer to Ghara. She was more sympathetic with things like that.

"...I'm not so sure, Kalit..." Fura muttered. "Things aren't going well..."

I fell silent. There was nothing I could say to ease the tension. For the rest of the night, we stayed close to each other. It was impossible for anyone to sleep that night.

But sleep we did. At least Ghara and Fura fell asleep, though it probably wasn't too long ago before I woke up. Stepping over them, I walked to the open ledge of Pride Rock, our home, and looked over the dark Pridelands. The sun wouldn't rise for a few more hours, it looked like.

I shook myself to loosen all my tense muscles, and I heard a rustle of rock-on-rock. It wasn't the good kind, like a frog in the bushes. No, something was moving towards me and climbing Pride Rock. Turning fast, I looked to see a gray hyena slinking its way up towards me. I was right, but it's one of the times you wish you weren't. Stepping back to the edge of Pride Rock, I looked to the land below and the hyena in front of me. It was either jump or be torn to pieces, and I took the jump.

Before I could spring from the rock, that blasted hyena ran up and tried to catch me, only managing to sink two of its claws into my left side and ruining my take-off. So instead of leaping from the rocks on the side to the grass and running, I was falling, flailing, to land on my paws when I hit the ground. I may have been in the cat family, but my reflexes weren't as great as Ghara's, or even Fura's, so I hit hard on my side.

I lay dazed for too long of minutes when I heard the sound on maniacal cackling. "We've got him!" That laugh was enough to give you nightmares.

My only concern was to get out of there. I forced myself to my paws and started running away from Pride Rock. I knew I couldn't out-run those things, but I could try to get to somewhere to hide.

I kept sprinting, changing directions about every few feet. My back right leg was going numb from that slash...

"C'mere, Kalit! We only wanna cub sandwich!"

Bad puns... Disgusting.

I saw my chance. A tree branch hung over the Gorge. With a grunt, I managed to grab it, but it was weak and bent dangerously.

There were about 10 hyenas that had been chasing me. I saw their gleaming eyes around the tree base.

"Darn it! If that branch gives way, we've lost him!" one snarled.

"Forget it. He'll either fall or die waiting for us to go. We'll get his siblings instead," another cackled. Hoots of agreement broke out and they started to leave.

"Oh, man..." I was stuck in a tree with no way out (I forgot to think of the branch's weakness and how I was supposed to get down before I jumped there) and now Fura and Ghara were in danger! I could only hope that they had heard the beginnings of my tussle at Pride Rock and stayed awake...