"Shujaa?"
Kopa's body trembled as the realisation hit him. The lion before him simply nodded, giving off a loving, relieved smile as his eyes twinkled in the snow-lit sunlight. Both males took a few moments just to stand there, staring at each other. Trepidation ruffled through their furs until Kopa finally gave in, sprinting towards a suddenly wide-eyed, surprised Shujaa.
Kwaheri and Jicho watched on as the Royal Mlinzi charged at the lion, flicking his head underneath his shorter, light brown mane. Shujaa readied himself just as Kopa lunged into a gentle, affectionate muzzle. It had been so long since he had felt his warm, messy fur brush against his own.
Far too long…
"I…I can't believe it's you!" Kopa's voice trembled as he spoke, glancing down at his long-lost friend before him. Shujaa remained still, completely bewildered that Kopa was here. His master had told him someone important was to arrive at this mountain, someone who would change everything. How could he not figure out it would be him?
"Me neither…" Shujaa nuzzled the Royal Mlinzi back just as much, rubbing his head into Kopa's thick, masculine scented mane. The two continued at this until a slight movement from behind Kopa caused Shujaa to raise his head, glancing over to find an all too familiar pair: a monkey and eagle.
"Kwaheri? Jicho?" Shujaa asked, spotting both friends as they nodded softly, slowly coming to realise who stood before them. Shujaa turned back to Kopa, his eyes stained with smirking sarcasm as he caught Kopa's eyesight. "Still hanging out with birds and apes I see?"
"You can talk!" Kopa replied, his words drooling with wit as he glanced behind his long-lost friend. The gorillas had relaxed completely, standing tall and proud before them. Kopa and Shujaa couldn't help but laugh at their banter, nuzzling each other once more. Jicho and Kwaheri smiled up at them, even if their minds were still filled with a slight sense of trepidation. After all, time was a precious commodity right now and if they didn't get moving soon, Karimu and the others would surely come to harm.
Sensing the tension fall , Ulinzi slowly crept out into the open, flicking his eyes between his father and Shujaa. Coming out of their chuckling nuzzling, Kopa and especially Shujaa caught sight of him, their ears flicking up at the sight of the cub.
"And… A cub?" Shujaa puzzled, turning his attention to Kopa. "Who's the little cutie then?" He smiled, swaying his head from Ulinzi's curious gaze to Kopa's pleasant, grinning smirk. Upon seeing the shorter male's eyes peek at him, Kopa shuddered, shaken out of a world of thoughts and dreams.
"Oh, erm, that's my son, Ulinzi." The Royal Mlinzi proudly declared, his head arising, causing the once chilly winds to rattle his dark, potent mane. Shujaa's eyes widened. He wasn't surprised that Kopa had a son. After all, he was certainly a looker. No wonder a lioness would want to bear his cubs.
Kopa stepped forward, away from Shujaa. His eyes glanced up to the southern icy border of the clearing, glimmering as the darkened, corrupted cloud ebbed on the horizon. He closed his eyes, hoping to feel any sense of her, any sense of her soul. It only took a minute to feel, ever so barely. The fear… The pain…
He felt it all…
"Kopa?" Jicho's concerned squawk fluttered through the royal Mlinzi's mind as he continued to concentrate. Deepening further into his heart. He sensed Karimu's surroundings. The darkened, corrupted shards of Uasian crystal surrounding her, stinging her fur as she lay there. Beside her, he sensed a familiar presence, as dark as the void gnashing away at the ancient, primordial monument.
"Baya!?"
"Kopa!" Jicho raised her feathered wing up to Kopa's side, shaking him gently out of his thoughts. His eyes opening once more, Kopa felt a tingle on the faint scar across his left eye. It flickered a gentle green before returning to normal. He glanced over at Shujaa, who stared back, concern brushing across his muzzle.
"So, what do we do now?" Kwaheri queried as Ulinzi nuzzled up to him, flicking his attention between Jicho and Kopa. Shujaa turned out the gorillas, ordering them to carry on with their patrol as he stayed with Kopa and his followers. The primates agreed, leaving the lion to deal with the royal Mlinzi's team.
Kopa stood tall, raising his head slightly higher than Shujaa. "We need to get back to the Uasilands." Turning back around to face the southern boundary, he mumbled. "Karimu needs us there-"
"I wouldn't advise it." Shujaa spoke up, taking a step forward. He gave a quick glance up at the darkened clouds, feeling them gently nibble away at his soul. Kopa stared at him coldly, his eyes piercing the weaker male's heart. He struggled to continue speaking as Kopa slowly approached. "Well, from what we've heard, Scar has full control of the Uasilands and-"
"And?" The Royal Mlinzi buttered in, forcing his muzzle close to Shujaa. The smaller male stepped back, quickly taken back by Kopa's change in mood. As he glanced up at him, Shujaa noticed a slight glimmer across Kopa's scar. His heart sank, knowing truly what it meant, and the troubles it could cause.
"Well… The mountain gorillas refuse to assist us." Shujaa's ears folded as he spoke, glancing away from the Royal Mlinzi as he spoke. Kopa's face scrunched up, curiosity seeping into its folds.
"Us?" His heart skipped a beat as his head swayed to the side. He felt a familiar ripple through his body as the sound of crackling thunder rumbled on the horizon. A bright, cascading light gleamed across the slit in the corner of his eye, blinding him for just a second as he turned to face it. Kwaheri and Jicho glanced over as well, holding their hand and wing respectively up to shield their sight from the holy gaze.
As the light started to fade, Kopa realised a slim, feminine figure lay before him. His eyes widened, knowing all too well who it was. She was weak, laying faintly on the ground as her cyan blue eyes barely glanced up at him.
"Afya?!" He rushed to her aid, halting bare inches from her as she faintly raised her paw. The lioness' body hummed with ethereal energy faintly as he struggled to meet his eyes.
"Kopa… Thank… the Creator…" Afya's words wheezed from her muzzle as she lay on the snowy ground, her white, marked fur nearly blending in perfectly. Kopa nuzzled her side, checking the crystalised marks etched into her body. They flickered with a corrupted green, before returning to their normal cyan colour.
"What happened to you?" The Royal Mlinzi started to breathe heavier, his entire body raced with concern. "Where's Karimu?"
The weak lioness before him struggled to her paws, glancing around at her surroundings, confused and concerned herself. She caught sight of Jicho and Kwaheri. The monkey had started to study his staff, watching its core fluctuate between a soulful blue and hellish green.
"Impossible…" As she tried to approach the puzzled primate, Afya tripped, landing headfirst back into the chilling snow. Kopa rushed to her aid, slowly raising her muzzle up out of the compressed snow, nuzzling under her head to try and lift it up.
She analysed the crystalised glows coming from the staff, mumbling under her breath as her eyesight thinned. "That shard is the last one, untouched by the corruption…" Kwaheri clenched his fist around the glowing staff, rubbing his finger across its humming, exposed crystalised core.
Shujaa strolled up to Kopa, sitting beside him as Afya spoke. Seeing his father calm down slightly, Ulinzi rushed to the warmth of his fur, nuzzling into Kopa's paws as he hummed lovingly. Afya flicked her attention back up to Kopa, her eyes twinkling with fear.
"You need to get help, Kopa." A small, terrified tear brushed down her cheek as she stared into his warm, brown eyes. "We need an army to take out Baya and his forces." As she spoke, a flicker of light gleamed across her body, a stabbing shot of greenish energy. She growled in pain, causing Kopa to rise to all fours. She collapsed back into the shallow snow, feeling the ethereal waves pulsate across her body, pulling her back into the corrupted structure she had been imprisoned in. "Please Kopa… The balance must be kept…"
The others could only watch on as a gloomy, green darkness overcame the lioness, consuming her physical form as it summoned her back. Kopa tried to rush to her aid, tried to save her, but failed to reach her before the darkness took her. He pounced on the dry, lifeless rock that had been left, forming the perfect shape of a resting lioness in the shallow, sprinkled snow.
"Afya!" The Royal Mlinzi bowed his head, feeling a wash of sorrow sway over him. The others watched on, frozen in disbelief as to what had just happened. Shujaa especially stood still, confused by what had just transpired before his eyes.
"Kopa… what happens now?" Jicho hopped towards him, her voice chirping with uncertainty. Upon hearing her puzzled query, he turned back to the southern boundary, watching as the thunderous, corrupted clouds grew ever so slightly. His heart sank at the thought, knowing what he had to do, at least for now.
Taking a moment to gather his thoughts, Kopa turned to Shujaa, who remained seated, still contemplating the events that had just played out before him. As Kopa's brown eyes locked on him, however, the slightly younger male felt their warm, heart pulsing embrace shudder through his heart, forcing his own to meet Kopa's.
"Could you take us to King Sokwe?" Kopa asked. His eyes remained warm, even if his voice was chilled with the iciness of concern. Shujaa smiled softly, slowly becoming lost in Kopa's heart-pounding, attractive eyes. He barely caught Kopa's words by reading his frost-bitten lips.
"Erm, yeah, I guess." The younger male chuckled gently, turning his attention away from Kopa as he arose to his four paws. "His clan is not far from here." With a more confident smile, Shujaa turned to the east, towards a shallow, frost coated opening in the mountain's ice-carved walls.
He started to stroll towards it, leading Kopa and his small team to meet the region's ruling monarch. Kopa knew him all too well, having met him only about a year prior. He seemed fine back then, even if a bit suspicious of Kopa. As Kopa started to follow Shujaa, his son quickly followed, nuzzling up in between his legs.
"Dad! What about mum?" The young cub's panicked voice rumbled through his father's ears. Kwaheri passed Kopa as Ulinzi stared up at his father, his eyes gleaming with an innocent worry. Jicho, finding the thickening snow uncomfortable on her shorter, thinner legs, had decided to hop onto Kopa's back, stretching her wings out until folding them back in, making sure to keep them pristine as she rested on his shoulder blade. Kopa smiled down at his son, nuzzling him gently as Jicho clung to his fur.
"We'll save her soon, son. I promise." He gave the cub a lick across his cheek, who giggled adorably at his father's loving gesture. "But first, we need to get help."
The cub seemed to understand, nuzzling up to this father's warm, muscular legs lovingly as they began to walk once more. Behind them, the storms again started to batter the snow-settled opening. Blanketing it in a thicker, heavier layer of frost.
Shujaa led the way further into a narrow corridor, knowing all too well that the Mountain Gorilla King wouldn't be too happy to see the scar across Kopa's eye.
After all, a lion with the same scar had killed his sons and destroyed his kingdom mere weeks prior…
