Chapter One: Kiara's Lookout
As Kiara walked up onto the summit of Pride Rock, the day's first warm rays of sun warmed her fur and energized her. She watched the light spread across her father's land, and was pleased to have such a wonderful vantage point.
The early morning stillness of the Pridelands had become very familiar to Kiara over the past few months. Since Zazu's retirement, the lions had been in need of a more aerial view to watch for danger, and the best they could do was keep watch from the highest point of Pride Rock. Simba had suggested Vitani would be good for the task, but Kiara had stepped in, wanting a more practical role in protecting her family. She hoped it would help the others to take her a bit more seriously.
Timon had rolled his eyes and told her that being a lookout wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Kiara didn't care, though. She needed something useful to do, and as she was absolutely awful at hunting, this was as helpful as she was likely to get.
It was an easy enough task. She could watch the herds move from one place to another as the days went by, and bask in the beauty of the sunrise each morning. Sometimes Kovu would join her, and for hours and hours they would just talk and laugh about anything at all. It was a very peaceful time, and it didn't take long for Kiara to grow to love her duty.
This particular morning was like any other. The rest of her pride was sleeping below her in the coolness of the cave. There was nothing interesting going on that Kiara could see from her position. She settled down and decided she could afford to take a nap, since there was nothing to watch for at the moment.
She blinked. Or was there?
As far as she knew, all of the other Pride Rock lions were still sleeping, and she would have seen it if anyone had left the cave since moonset. So why was there a lion and a lioness lounging about near the water hole?Her eyes narrowed. Of course she couldn't make out any distinguishing features on either of the intruders. Her first instinct was to alert her father and send out a group of lionesses to meet them, and find out what they wanted. With any luck, they would just be a couple of rogues passing through. But Kiara wasn't so foolish as to assume that they meant no harm.
She had to do something.
She bounded down the steep path that curved down in the direction of the pride's cave. She had never been the most graceful lioness in the best of times, and once she lost her footing and smacked her jaw flat on the rocky surface, but she kept going as if nothing had happened. By the time she had reached the mouth of the cave, she could see that some early risers, including her mother, were already yawning and stretching. "Kiara?" said Nala. She must have seen the look on her daughter's face, because her voice took on a worried tone. "What's wrong?"
"Two strangers," Kiara said, panting and ignoring the throbbing pain in her jaw. "Near the water hole."
"Calm down," said Nala evenly. "It's probably nothing. Go wake up Kovu and Vitani. I'll get your father up and we'll all go down and meet them."
Kiara nodded.
Kovu slept off in a corner of the cave, far back in the shadows. Kiara didn't know why he had formed this habit, but Vitani had mentioned something about staying inconspicuous while sleeping. Vitani herself was sprawled out over two other former Outlanders, still deeply asleep.
"Vitani," said Kiara, nudging the tawny lioness with one paw. "Vitani! Wake up!"
A deep growl resonated in Vitani's throat and she opened one blue eye. "This had better be very important," she said grumpily.
"It is," said Kiara. "There's two intruders down on the Savannah and my mother told me to gather you and Kovu for a welcoming committee." She grinned. "I would have thought you'd be dying for a little action. But obviously, you'd rather sleep the day away…"
"No," sighed Vitani. "I'm up. Although I doubt this is as interesting as you think, Princess." Kiara winced; Vitani (and Kovu) only ever used the title "princess" in a mocking tone, and it often succeeded in making Kiara feel like a tiny cub.
"We'll see," said Kiara, grinding her teeth together in irritation. Vitani shrugged and stalked off toward Nala, who had succeeded in waking Simba and was waiting just outside the cave.
Kiara moved off in the direction of Kovu, who was curled up in a ball. Kiara thought he looked very young when he did this, and in the shadows his sharp features were softened so that he looked innocent and peaceful. She hated to wake him, but she supposed there was nothing for it.
She nuzzled his nose lightly with her own, and was delighted to hear a short burst of purring start up in his chest. He opened his eyes and looked at her. If he was surprised by this wake up call, he didn't show it. "Hi, beautiful," he said, which was decidedly a better greeting than Vitani's.
"Hi," said Kiara, smiling. "Time to get up. We've got places to go, lions to meet."
"What do you mean?" asked Kovu, puzzled.
"You'll see," she said. "It's nothing major. Probably. Just… I saw something outside that I thought needed to be looked into. Come with me?"
"Sure."
They headed outside together. Simba was craning to get a view of the newcomers, but it wasn't the best vantage point. He had an odd, closed look on his face. Kiara thought he looked expectant, somehow. "Do you think they're dangerous?" asked Nala.
"I have a feeling they aren't," said Simba quietly.
The five of them made their way down onto the grasslands. It was only a short walk to the water hole, but Simba seemed eager to reach it. Vitani lagged behind, obviously not taking any of this seriously and still a little grouchy from being woken up early.
"She'll get over it," said Kovu vaguely, when Kiara looked over her shoulder for the fifth time. "She's not so good with mornings."
Kiara wasn't convinced, but she nodded and turned her attention to Simba, who had slowed down considerably. They were within sight of the water hole, and Kiara could see a hint of motion nearby, but the figures were cloaked in the shade of a stooped acacia tree. Simba glanced back, and hissed, "You all stay here. If I need you, I'll call you."
He walked off, and Nala turned back to the three younger lions. "He'll be all right. Kiara, could you make out any features on them?"
"No," said Kiara. "All I could tell was that one was a male and the other was a female. The male…" she cast about for the right words. "I almost thought he must be Daddy at first. But it's such a long distance, they were barely more than dots."
Nala nodded, but some suspicion seemed to have been confirmed by Kiara's testimony. She fell silent, and watched the spot where Simba had disappeared into the shadows. Moments passed. Vitani rolled over onto her side and yawned. Kovu sat down and swung his tail about aggravatedly; he wasn't a patient lion. Nala took a few steps forward, poised to spring if she was needed. Kiara stood still, waiting… waiting…
Finally --
"Hey!" came Simba's voice. "It's okay! Nala, you'd better come over here and give these two a proper welcome!"
