Chapter 10 "V"

It has been a week since Kiu had died. She have been walking for so long that her padds had cuts and those cuts had cuts, and it didn't help that she is in the middle of a salt flat. The idea of just laying down and fulfilling the last part of the circle of life is starting to look appealing. "No! Kiu would want me to continue on."

Uzuri's outburst renewed her will but sheer willpower only lasted her for so long, she collapsed. "Am I actually gonna died because of this?" her body became heavy as if she was holding up the sky. Uzuri collapsed on the ground, and she began to accept her fate as she drifted off into what could easily be her last slumber. "Ouch!" Uzuri felt a pinch on the back of her neck, "Mom?" she opened her eyes half expecting to be at the pearly gates with Pion, but no Uzuri was still stuck in her mortal coil. "Kill me, please." she pleaded with the form that stood over her.

"Not a chance girly." the form said, as he pulled her up onto his back as Uzuri's face was buried in his impressive black mane. "You are actually really close to the river." He said sending a wave of hope through her body. 'Am I actually gonna make it?'

"What is your name?" She asked the lion carrying her to salvation.

"You can just call me V." he said, as his words made Uzuri feel safe and warm just like she was back with Kiu. "And what is your name?" he asked.

"I am Uzuri of the Coastlands, now tell me what your real name is cause your name can't be just one letter." She asked while she slowly began to regain her vision. V had electric blue eyes, bright golden fur, and a deep horizontal gash between his eyes that looked to be on the fresher side of things.

He set Uzuri down at the bank of a dwindling river, that looks to have seen better days, there were bones decorating the nearly dried up river bed. There was a crocodile skull not three feet from her face, a gazelle hip bone was floating down the current, and a wildebeest horn lodged in a bloated hyena corpse down stream that sent a sickening feeling through her body. "You sure this water is safe?" she asked remembering how Kiu had died, she turned and was met with a smooth roguish grin as he bent down as he lapped up some of the murky water. V was breathtaking he is impossibly big he looks as if he could look an elephant in the eyes his features all blended together so well that the gods would be jealous.

"I would hope so, I have been drinking this stuff for almost two months." He said, causing her to reluctantly drink some. As the murky water hit her tongue she shoved her head into the water and as it filled her stomach.

As Uzuri raised her head she heard a twig break and some commotion behind her. She shifted her view from the putrid water in search of V. He was gone, then all of a sudden Uzuri was pinned on her back. She looked up to her captor to be met with breathtaking emerald green eyes. He snarled, "You are trespassing in my lands." His stunning white teeth sent chills down her spine. "Explain yourself!"

The power secreted from every pore in his body, he looked so much like Kiu his mane was black and smooth, he was lean and powerful, and he had a scar over his eye although it was on his left eye and not his right. "I was just passing through. Please... I didn't know I was on your land." Uzuri felt as though she was speaking with a spectre, but the attraction she felt toward him was palatable.

"Scar, stop scaring the poor girl." a loud voice boomed off in the distance. He growled in the direction of the voice.

"Yes… Brother." He spit out that word with disgust, just as Kiu did to Kreb, as he got off Uzuri.

A golden lion approached her. His crimson mane flowed in the wind, "I am sorry for the way my brother acted just now I am Mufasa and I am the king of these lands."

Uzuri bowed to the king, "I am Uzuri."

"Welcome to the Pridelands you can stay here as long as you wish." Mufasa said causing Uzuri's heart to skip a beat, "You must be starving, not a lot of lions can survive in the Outlands for too long."

"No, I shouldn't butt in…" she was trying to be polite.

"Uzuri." he cut her off, "I insist."

"Before I go with you and your brother, I have a question." Mufasa nodded, "Do you know a lioness named Stelle... from the Coastlands?"

"Yeah she's a wanderer, how do you know her and I think you should know she might not be around at the moment."

"She is my cousin." she said causing him to smile, while Scar was behind his brother with an unsettling look on his face.

Uzuri accompanied him and his brother back to the den where he introduced her to the rest of the Pride. The pride enjoyed a bountiful feast of zebra, antelope, and wildebeest. But Uzuri was too preoccupied studying Scar, when it was over Mufasa called for the attention of everybody as he introduced Uzuri to the pride. "Make sure you make Uzuri feel at home." He said as he winked at her. Uzuri's eyes bounced freely between the feast and Scar who just glared at the royal couple.

When everyone was introducing themselves Uzuri was worried that some lioness would introduce themselves as Scar's wife, there was a close call as a pregnant lioness approached her and introduced herself as Sarafina. "Whose child is that?" she asked, "Sorry I don't mean to be rude... you just met me."

"Don't worry." she chuckled, "She is not Scar's." She shocked Uzuri when she said that. "Oh, you have been staring at Scar all evening Honey." she said with a giggle, "Mufasa wants to talk to you as well." She pointed out of the cave where he was sitting at the apex of the rock.

Uzuri obliged the king's wishes and met him and his pregnant wife at the point of Pride Rock, "Yes my liege." she said bowing to the king.

He turned to her and smiled, "I see how you have been staring at my brother, infact that is why I called you out here. He has seemed distant always running off and causing me trouble."

His wife Sarabi butted in, "We would like to see if you could get to know him. He and Sarafina were close but as you can see she had different plans."

Uzuri tried to hide her excitement now she had a reason to stay in the Pridelands, beyond just waiting for Stelle to return from god knows where. "I would be happy to get to know Scar better, but have you heard any word from my cousin?"

"I will send Zazu out in the morning to find your cousin." Mufasa said as Sarabi buried her face in his thick crimson mane.

AN: With all the support I have been recieveing over the past two chapters I would like to reward you guys with two chapters in one day, and as an appoligize for how short the past few chapters have been. Side note I have 19 total chapters already writen and I am no where near finished, but updates will be a little slower as I write more and try to finish my story.

PS: I am wondering how you like "V" he is also gonna be a pivotal character in my story.