Hey, guys! Thanks for reviewing. The very first review I got yesterday by Hannah29k9 really meant a great deal. I truly appreciate it and it's a great motivation. Thanks again for all the feedback, I can't begin to say how much it means!
Please note that anything set off by single air quotations ('blah, blah. blah') is a mental thought, not a verbal thought. Just some quick vocab: babu means grandpa. Now for the old favourite – the disclaimer: I do not own the Lion King or any characters and/or plot. I only own Lela.
A little insight: this chapter (and hopefully the next few, depending on whether I can control my want to skip ahead) will be mainly covering the type of lifestyles the Pridelanders lead. Here it is!
Chapter1
Kopa
'Alright! The sun's coming up!' I think to myself. I've been sitting anxiously, waiting for the day to finally begin! I push and squirm and wiggle. 'How is Mom's grip so tight in her sleep?' I finally pull free from my mother's grasp. She doesn't seem to note that I've left her clutches in the clutches of my dad. They both sleep peacefully and I turn back to the glowing light outside.
After hopping off of the raised pedestal that my parents and I sleep on, I slither through the pride of peaceful lions in the cave of Pride Rock. Snores rise on all sides of me, but I focus my sights on the cave exit. I come across my snoozing friend, Afua. He's huddled up in a tight ball. I nudge him with my paw. "Wake up, Afua!" I whisper. "Wake up!"
Afua rolls over so that his back is facing me. He mumbles a complaint before trying to find sleep again.
"C'mon, Afua," I say. "The sun's up, we can play!" I'm given no response after a while and huff in irritancy. 'Fine, then,' I reason. 'A king has to learn to do things himself, anyway!' I beam at the thought that this is a learning curve and bounce towards the exit with newfound enthusiasm.
The light hits me full force as I step out into the chilly morning breeze. After adjusting to the contrast in light I greet the sun with a broad smile. "Wow!" I muse silently. It's the same every day, but it never loses its charm. I stroll to the very edge of the rock face and sit in awe at everything before me. "One day, it'll be all mine," I almost squeal gleefully. I quickly pull myself from my idealisms of ruling some day and square my shoulders. I close my eyes and try to recall the whole geography of the Pridelands, as a sort of quiz in preparation for my kingly days. I crease my brows and mumble the answers to my mentally formulated questions, "The blue hills are on that side," I point with still shut eyes to where I recall the blue hills' location is. "It snows there sometimes. Uh, the grazers usually hang out over there," I point again to where I assume the grazing folk reside. "And the gorge is-"
"Nice try, Your Highness, but the blue hills are on the other side of Pride Rock," says Afua as he struts to me, almost making me jump out of my skin with fright.
I whirl around at him, "It was just one mistake!" I swiftly defend.
Afua snickers and joins me at the edge of Pride Rock. "Relax, Kopa. It was just one mistake." He grins.
"That's right," I beam with a nod. "I've been getting better at this."
Afua's scratches at his fair pelt with his hind leg. "Yeah, yeah," he returns, still smiling. "So, what're we playing?"
"How about hide and seek?"
Afua perks up, but slumps his shoulders in realization. "That's no good. Everyone has to be up for us to actually have hiding places other than the top of Pride Rock."
"Oh, right," I mumble. "How about tag?"
"Alright!" hoots Afua. He pokes me with his paw. "You're it!" he runs off, bouncing around tauntingly only a meter away. "Catch me if you can."
"Don't cry when I do!" I declare boldly, lunging for my friend. He dives out of the way, just in time for me to taste the dust he kicked up with his evasive manoeuvre. "Shoot!" I grumble.
"Haha!" boasts Afua. "Too slow." He blows a raspberry at me.
I clamber to my feet and grin slyly, "Oh yeah? Try this on for size!" I sprint to Afua and a chase begins. We run around in circles for a bit before I close the distance between the two of us. I leap forward and tackle Afua to the ground. "Heh, were you saying something?" I smirk on top of him.
"Okay, okay," laughs Afua. "Get off me so I can catch you."
I hop off my friend and skip off. "Ready when you are."
Afua and I spend a good while frolicking and pouncing about in our game. So much so, that the lions inside begin to wake to the commotion outside.
"Good morning, boys," greets my dad with a roar of a yawn, strolling out of the cave. He walks over to me and Afua who are barely able to stand up straight after our fun.
"Good, huff, morning, huff, Sire," wheezes Afua.
"Hey, Dad!" I pant, rushing off to nuzzle my dad's leg. I notice that I reach his carpal pads – I'm growing! "What're the plans for today?"
Dad smiles at me. "I wish I knew. I'm waiting to hear the morning report from Zazu."
"Does that mean we can hang out while we wait?" I beam.
"Does this answer your question?" Dad tags me with his paw and then Afua and takes off down the slope of Pride Rock. "Try to keep up!"
"Hey, no fair!" I laugh. "You got a head start!" Before I know it, Afua's darting down after Dad and I instinctively follow. "Wait up!" I call, pushing myself as fast as I can. Halfway down Pride Rock, dad trips over something and laughs the whole tumble down. He ends up on his back at the base of Pride Rock and Afua and I pounce him before he has a chance to get up. "Ha!"
"You boys are tougher than you look," jokes Dad with a smirk.
"Good morning, Sires," pipes Zazu, swooping down towards us. He lands on a rock nearby. "And a good morning to you, Afua," nods the blue bird.
'The sun's just gotten up and it's time for Dad to go off already,' I frown at the thought. 'Man, when I'm king, I'm going to do something about this work schedule.'
"Zazu," Dad addresses with a smile. "Good morning." Dad points his next words to me and my friend, "Go on, you two, greet Zazu."
"Morning, Zazu," we say in unison but no particular joy.
"Children will be children," condones Zazu, not upset in anyway by our lack of drive. "They'll understand the importance of a bright and early day's work someday."
"I'm not sure I quite understand it yet myself," teases Dad. "What's the report?"
"Well, the monkeys and the giraffes are in a tiff again over the last of those seasonal berries," begins Zazu. "I told them to just resolve it amongst themselves, but they can't seem too. The field mice have been squeaking about the unethicalness of the new owls moving into their field. The mice believe it's a ludicrous amount of owls for one or two trees, they fear that the owls will eat them all I suppose…"
Zazu continues on and Dad whispers to me, "Why don't you two go off and play. It seems like I'll be busy for a while."
"Okay, Dad," I moan, climbing off him gloomily. I paw at the ground, thinking of what to do all day. 'If Dad wasn't busy, I'd bring up those roaring lessons he mentioned a while ago,' I think over.
Dad and Zazu start out to wherever their job is, leaving just Afua and me.
"Hey, guys," greets Lela, climbing down Pride Rock.
"Hey, Lela," Afua and I greet.
"Where are you headed?" I ask separately.
"To practice hunting," she says, sitting before us.
"Hunting?" I gripe.
"That's so girly," Afua completes my thought.
"Hey, hunting is what feeds you," opposes Lela, standing as if to emphasise her cause. "Besides, rogue males hunt."
"Rogue males hunt," I point out. I smirk my next sentence. "A king doesn't need to."
"Oh whatever," say Lela and Afua together, laughing a little despite themselves.
"Why don't you wrestle with us?" asks Afua.
"Yeah!" I enthuse. "That's way tougher and cooler than hunting."
"You guys always cheat," Lela complains, sitting with slumped shoulders.
"Hey, bad-guys don't fight fair," Afua says. "You've gotta be ready for anything."
"Why don't we go tree-climbing instead?" suggests Lela.
"Now we're talking!" I beam. I point to a nearby tree in the area where the lionesses usually hang out. "Last one to the top of that tree is a slobbering hyena!" I dash off, my friends close behind. We frolic about, climbing up and down trees until the sun is high over our heads. I drop myself wearily down a low branch of the last tree. "Oof!" I huff. A plume of dust flies off when I hit the ground.
"Well, I'm tired," Lela giggles, lying on her tummy with all her limbs cast out like a star.
"This sun isn't making it any better," says Afua, on his back. He shields his face from the sun with both his paws. "Man, I'm hungry too."
'I'm hungry too,' I think. A deep red beetle wanders passed me and I jump up. "Alright! A grub!" I snatch the creature and toss it into my mouth.
"Ew!" Afua and Lela recoil.
"They're really sweet actually," I say with a smile.
"I think you'll enjoy this better," says Mom, coming back from a hunting trip with the other lionesses. They've brought home some antelope!
"Yeah! Just in time!" beams Afua.
The three of us hurry over to lunch and eat till our stomachs refuse anymore. After the day's events, us cubs are pretty exhausted. Afua and Lela are in a snoozing pile under the still warm sun, and I sit beside my mother, watching the Pridelanders behave naturally in the distant fields. It's calming, this time of day that is. A good time to just reflect on what is what was and what will be.
"Mom?"
"Hmm?" is my mum's response. She's lying on her belly with her head between her paws and eyes shut.
"Do you think I'd be a good king someday?"
My mom looks up at me with a kind smile. "What makes you think otherwise?"
I crunch my brows with some concern before rolling my shoulders. "I just…I don't want to mess up what great-babu Ahadi, babu Mufasa and Dad worked for. What if I do?"
"Kopa," my mom almost laughs the word. "You're still such a small cub. You have a long time to learn all you need. There isn't a chance that your dad and I would throw you in without all three of us being sure. Trust me, you'll be one of the best kings yet."
'Mom has a point,' I suppose. 'I am still just a cub. There's still so much to learn but plenty of time to learn it all.'
"You're right, Mom," I say, a small smile fighting for allowance on my face.
"I have a knack for that," smiles Mom. "Come on, Kid, you haven't taken a bath yet." My face falls and I attempt to flee. My mom snatches my tail and hooks a paw under my tummy to yank me in. "Nice try," she laughs, before proceeding to lick me all over.
"Aw, Mom!" I whine. "This is so embarrassing."
Thanks for reading! The type of story-line I've based this on is The Lion King Six New Adventures. So that's where Afua and Kwaheri and Kopa's taste for grubs all come from, heh. I am hoping to incorporate aspects of the Lion King 2. So we'll just see how it goes. Thanks guys!