Disclaimer: I don't own Lion King.
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Chapter 19: Guardian
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The sun blazed mercilessly in the Outlands. The cracked, barren ground scorched Zira's paws, forcing her to be in move if she wanted to avoid the unpleasant sensation. Together with the majority of their pride, she struggled to ensnare the unexpected gift – a stray hippo. Its powerful jaws and sheer body mass were a viable threat, potentially lethal, so all of them had to be careful and agile. However, the effort would pay off – if they hunted such an enormous heap of meat, the entire pride wouldn't have to hunt for days.
Zira skillfully jumped out of hippo's way, avoiding the charge. Precisely in the same moment, Hodari made a sneak attack, leaping on the beast's rear and sinking her claws as deep as she could. The hippo spun around surprisingly quickly for such a fat animal, but Hodari was no longer there. Nukta, on the other hand, appeared right by the victim's side, taunting him and distracting from the other lioness, who was already waiting for her turn to attack.
The first group retreated to catch a breath, while the second one stepped into action, wearing the hippo out. Through the endless offensive, Zira planned to keep their dinner away from the water. She smirked, noticing that the furious fight, the hippo put up, was getting less energetic. As she was admiring the splendid teamwork of her pride sisters, she couldn't help but think that something was off though. Zira narrowed her eyes. Hastily, she did a headcount. Hodari, Nukta, the three sisters… and Kuruka? What was she doing here?
"Kuruka!" Zira yelled.
Having heard her name, the young lioness turned her head. Because of her action, she didn't see the hippo's movement in time. She barely managed to avoid being snapped in half, and only Hodari's swift intervention saved her. Panting, Kuruka abandoned hippo and trotted to Zira.
"Y-yes?" she asked, nervously glancing over her shoulder.
Zira stared her down ferociously, making the younger lioness cower before her. In this very moment, the pride leader was far more terrifying that the deadly hippo.
"Weren't you supposed to be in the mound, watching my cubs?" Zira hissed out.
Kuruka gulped.
"I thought Nukta was going to do this," she said quickly, looking at her friend, who was resting and readying for another assault on the hippo.
"What?" Nukta shrieked, dramatically pointing her paw at her chest. "I told you that I was going to hunt. You were supposed to watch the cubs!"
"No, you should have done it!" Kuruka shouted at the other lioness, desperately defending herself – she must have feared the consequences for her blunder.
That was, however, the last thing on Zira's mind. Her red eyes widened, as the worst scenarios floated through her mind. She already imagined her cubs strangled, murdered, lying in the pools of their own blood at Scar's paws, while he cackled maliciously.
"You two left my cubs alone with Scar?" Zira shrieked, her self-control slipping.
The lionesses stilled, staring at their leader. Slowly, a look of sheer horror appeared on their muzzles – all of them used to be mothers, from almost elderly Hodari to the first-timer Nukta. The memories of their own joy extinguished before their very eyes were fresh in their minds.
Zira let out a shaky breath, her heart trembling from fear for her little ones. Male lions were not to be trusted – it was not uncommon among the savage individuals to dispose of cubs fathered by another male. Not wasting any more precious time, Zira whirled around, wildly flailing her tail. Speeding as fast as her legs allowed her, Zira raced for the den. Her panicked eyes were fixed on the tall pinnacles of the termite mounds, as she maneuvered between sharp rocks and dry, lifeless vegetation. The familiar, monotone buzzing of the termites signaled that she was close. Her heart was beating at a crazy pace, when she was almost at the threshold of the den. Breathless, she jumped through the hole inside.
"Kovu! Vitani! Nuka!" She called out the names of her cubs hastily, so that the sounds blended into an unrecognizable howl of a scared mother. Zira swept her gaze over the mound's interior, locating her sons and daughter. She stiffened, when her eyes met the green irises of Scar, who greeted her with a smile.
"Zira, what a surprise!" he exclaimed. Indeed, everyone looked startled by her arrival.
Scar lay on his spot. Zira's cubs were there, but they didn't seem endangered. If anyone was in peril, it was Scar. Nuka stared at his mother with his mouth opened wide – apparently he was in the middle of blabbering, when Zira stormed into the den. Kovu sighed in his sleep and rolled onto the other side. He rested on Scar's paws, neatly covered with his black mane. Only his head and tiny paws stuck out. Vitani stilled, seated atop Scar's head with her teeth clasped on his ear.
"Mother." She released the ear and lightly jumped off Scar, surely much to his relief.
The male shook his head, letting out a pleasant laughter. Then, he nodded to Zira with silent thanks. Overall, the image before her eyes were disgustingly idyllic, but she didn't trust Scar one bit.
"Nuka, Vitani, come over here!" She ordered, glaring at the Pridelander.
Nuka and Vitani sighed, disappointed and dragged themselves to their mother, clearly unhappy that the fun time was over. Tense and hostile, Zira prowled to Scar. She growled, trying to make him leave Kovu alone and flee to the furthest crevice in the termite mound, but he didn't seem to be intimidated by her display of power. Instead, he offered her a polite smile, as if she was grinning joyfully at him instead of scowling. Carefully, he shifted his mane with his paw, uncovering Zira's youngest son. Hastily, she snatched Kovu in her jaws and stalked away from the cub-napper. She carried him outside the mound, with Nuka and Vitani trailing her obediently. After leaving her cubs at the entrance, she doubled back to have a little chat with the den's newest resident.
Scar waited for her patiently, laying casually with his front paws crossed. Perhaps he didn't get up, because he didn't feel threatened. Maybe his injured limbs prevented it. Either way, everything in him, in his smug attitude infuriated Zira. She leapt to him and growled, as she lowered her head to hiss into his muzzle.
"Don't you dare come anywhere near my cubs ever again!" Zira showed Scar just how sharp her teeth were.
The male lion, however, kept smiling in an innocently apologetic way that looked suspiciously like plain mockery.
"They were so alone though," Scar said smoothly, emphasizing his words with a theatrically soulful sigh. "Aren't you glad that I took care of them in your absence?"
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Zira glared at him ferociously.
"I'm not!" she exclaimed angrily. "Argh!"
Scar raised his eyebrow at her display of temper, and his grin rose. Suddenly, Zira felt a delicate touch on her leg. She glanced down and became mortified, seeing Scar's paw gently placed atop hers. Zira attempted to take her paw away, but the male shifted his bodyweight, standing up. Zira lifted her head to berate the impetuous lion, when another surprise happened. Scar made an extremely bold move on her. Before she could get away, he firmly pressed his muzzle against hers. When she felt his tongue licking her in the most intimate way, he jumped back and slapped him right away. The strength of her blow made him topple over to lay flat on his side. He winced, but didn't growl back. He pulled himself up.
"You are so alluring when you're angry." Scar purred, shamelessly wriggling his eyebrows.
Zira lifted her claw paw, threatening to add even more scars to his collection.
"Your lousy attempts to woo me won't work." She warned him.
In response, Scar burst in brilliant, charming laughter. He was no longer coy or overly polite. As he sat up, arrogance was oozing from him. Suddenly, it was believable that this miserable sack of bones used to be a king of the Pride Lands. Zira tensed, when he extended his claws. With an annoyingly vain gesture, he proceeded to comb his ruffled mane.
"One way or another, you will be mine," he said, eying Zira smugly.
"Never!" Zira growl, storming out of the cave.
Scar smirked, when she turned her back to him and went to tend to her cubs. Zira wished she could just avoid interacting with him; it would be best if he was out of her sight. However, the merciless heat of the noon forced her into the den again. Discontent, she had to feed Vitani and Kovu with Scar just on the other side of the mound.
"Mother…" Nuka began in his whining voice. Her son couldn't sit still – either due to the termites biting at his rear or his eagerness to give Zira more reason to worry.
"No." She announced her verdict. Just in case, she pinned Nuka's tail to the ground. The cub yelped and jumped, but he was imprisoned by her paw. Zira shook her head, and Nuka gave up, plopping on the ground beside her.
As soon as she finished her milk, Vitani collapsed and began snoring almost right away. Kovu, on the other hand, had some trouble with his noon nap. Zira scooped him in her paws, rocking him to sleep, but he kept mewing.
"There, there," she cooed, but her cub was restless. Zira tried talking to him, stroking him gently and even had Nuka entertain him with his foolishness, but nothing she did could put Kovu to sleep. The cub whined and wriggled in her grasp. He couldn't speak yet, so the series of inarticulate sounds that sprouted from his tiny mouth failed to tell his mother, what he wanted. He had just eaten, he was warm and certainly not sleepy. Boredom could be ruled out too – what did he miss.
"Oh no," Zira muttered, as the realization hit her. She put her paw over her head. Mumbling profanities under her breath, she stood up, scooping Kovu between her teeth.
Scar's self-satisfied grin rose, as she approached him. Zira lowered Kovu on his paws.
"I think he wants you." She rolled her eyes, annoyed by Scar's chuckle, as he embraced her son.
Kovu barely touched Scar's paws, when he ceased mewing. His eyes were still closed, but his little nose must have picked up the male's scent. He started crawling, letting out enthusiastic shrieks. Scar hid his claws and toppled the cub over until Kovu had all four paws in the air. Zira furrowed her brows with disapproval, but her son looked delighted, when Scar rolled him from side to side.
"Who's Scar's lad? You are!" Scar muttered in an eerily amiable voice, what made Zira wince.
The whole time she stood guard, looming over the male lion like a vengeful ghost. Her menacing presence must have been notable, for Scar froze, with his paw right over squealing Kovu. He looked up, meeting Zira's hateful glare.
"Why don't you lay down?" He patted the spot next to him. "After all, mother should be close to her cubs."
Zira gasped, faking being abashed by the dastardly offer. Afterward, she sighed, as if there was no choice and, defeated, she lay by Scar's side like a shy lioness would. She sucked up the male's triumphant smirk, allowing him to bask in the illusion of the success. Zira's mother always told her: "Remember, when you woo a male, let him think that he's the one doing the wooing."
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Author's Note:
So, what do you think? Please leave a comment. I'll give you a virtual muffin if you do.