Chapter Two: Homecoming
Kiara didn't recognize the two lions standing in front of her, so she hung back awkwardly with Kovu and Vitani. One was a big lion with the same gold pelt as Simba, but with a slightly fairer mane; he seemed a little discomfited, but the look on his face was cheerful enough. Next to him was a lovely older lioness, with regal features and a heavy, muscular build.
Nala blinked at them, then rushed forward, a look of utter happiness on her face. She approached the male lion first, tentatively, as if she didn't believe he was really here. He smiled at her, then said very quietly, so that Kiara almost didn't catch it, "Mother?"
Kovu gasped. Kiara felt as if her heart had just crashed into her ribs. She frowned, then took a step forward, eager to hear more. Surely this lion was mistaken? "Yes," said Nala, to Kiara's utter shock. "I -- I can't believe you're here, Kopa."
"I'd almost forgotten what you looked like," the lion said quietly. "I'm -- I've missed you." Kiara, too mystified to continue following this conversation, looked at her father, who was nuzzling the regal looking lioness. She whispered something to him, to which he nodded.
"What's going on?" asked Vitani loudly.
Simba, Nala, and the two newcomers looked at her. Nala looked like she wanted to tell Vitani off for being rude, but she said nothing. Kiara was secretly very appreciative of Vitani's outburst.
"This is my mother," said Simba, indicating the new lioness. "Sarabi."
Kiara felt her eyes go wide. Then she uttered a soft "wow." Kiara had heard a lot about Sarabi, the strong queen who had seen the pride through Scar's reign. Kiara had never known what had happened to her grandmother, because her parents rarely mentioned her. She had just assumed that the real story was too painful and sad for them to relive.
Sarabi was looking at Vitani with deep mistrust.
"What?" Vitani asked her confrontationally. Kiara rolled her eyes. She knew the aggression was just for show, and that Vitani was actually probably as baffled as she was.
"You look… like someone I used to know," said Sarabi dismissively. She glanced at Simba.
"You mean Zira?" he said.
Sarabi's expression was stony; she nodded stiffly. Her gaze traveled over to Kiara, who gave a small, nervous smile. Sarabi nearly returned it, but then her eyes fell on Kovu, and her eyes widened with disbelief.
Kiara stepped closer to Kovu, who looked like he thought he knew what was going through Sarabi's mind.
"Who is he?" asked Sarabi, jerking her head in Kovu's direction.
"That's Kovu," said Nala calmly. "He's… well, he's…"
"I'm Zira's son," said Kovu, straightening. "And Scar's adopted heir. They raised me, but I'm not... I mean, we're not..."
"Zira died," said Simba, who appeared calm, but was nevertheless looking at Sarabi a little nervously. "The rest of her pride has joined ours. Vitani and Kovu are siblings, but they were, shall we say, a bit of a disappointment to their mother."
Sarabi seemed to relax slightly. "I see," she said. "It's just… I've got some bad memories involving your parents." She spoke directly to Kovu and Vitani.
"Scar wasn't our father," said Vitani. "Though our mother usually pretended that he was. We used to agree with her, but Simba and Kiara convinced us we were wrong... You don't need to look so suspicious," she added petulantly.
Kiara smiled. For the first time, Sarabi looked at her with some real interest. Her expression softened. "And dare I ask whose child you are?" she said.
"That would be us," said Simba, indicating himself and Nala.
"Sarabi," said Nala, "meet your granddaughter, Kiara."
Sarabi smiled. Behind her, Kiara saw the other male angle his head slightly, looking puzzled. Sarabi moved forward to nuzzle Kiara, and said, "How beautiful you are. This must all be quite a lot for you to take in."
"Yes," said Kiara, raising her voice and looking pointedly at her parents, who both chuckled.
Sarabi nodded. "Kopa," she said, turning to glance over her shoulder, "come here."
Kopa's small smile returned as he moved up to stand by Sarabi's side. "Yes, Grandmother?"
"It seems you've got a little sister," said Sarabi. "It's a pleasant surprise, isn't it? Why don't you say hello."
Kiara and Kopa stared at each other, neither knowing quite what to say. Kopa looked at Nala and Simba, then sighed. "Hi," he said uncertainly.
"Hi," said Kiara. "I didn't know --"
"I'm confused," interrupted Vitani. "So suddenly Simba's got another kid that none of us knew about? How'd that happen?"
But Kovu shook his head. "Vitani, don't you remember? Mother did mention another cub. She said he was killed, but she didn't know how. She said she regretted that she couldn't kill him personally."
"Yeah," said Kopa quietly. "That was me."
"So… you aren't dead?" said Vitani.
"I don't think so," said Kopa.
"It's a long story," said Sarabi. She looked tired and even a little ill now that the greetings were over. She seemed to wilt before Kiara's eyes, and she wasn't the only one to notice. Nala took a step toward her, gave her a hard, appraising look, then said,
"It's time for you two to rest. Kopa, how long have you been traveling?"
"At least four days straight. Grandmother said we needed to get the journey over with; she said if we stopped, she -- she might never start again."
A worried look flashed across Simba's face, but he said nothing else.
They all went back to Pride Rock. Kiara, Kovu, and Vitani all refrained from asking any more questions, as it was painfully clear how exhausted Kopa and Sarabi were. Kopa's eyes were drooping slightly and he moved in a slow, automatic sort of manner. Once back home, the rest of the pride was instructed by Simba not to disturb the two newcomers, though one lioness simply couldn't conceal her joy when she set eyes upon Sarabi.
Sarafina shrieked with joy at the sight of her and traipsed over. Sarabi looked equally glad to see her old friend. Nala and Simba exchanged knowing glances as Sarabi and Sarafina padded off to a secluded corner to sleep. Kopa, who didn't seem to know where he should go, simply stood awkwardly next to his parents.
Kiara sighed. She didn't know how to feel about suddenly discovering that she was not the only heir to her father's throne. She had been brought up as the future queen of the Pridelands, though she'd never thought much of having so much responsibility thrust on her shoulders. Now that Kopa was here, would she be able to step down and let him take the reign of the kingdom? After all that she'd been through in her life so far, would she even want to step down?
It took several moments for Kiara to notice Kovu staring at her. He grinned and came to rest by her side. "Wild, isn't it?" he said.
"It's been quite a day so far," she replied. "I mean… I never knew much about my grandmother, Sarabi. My father never seemed to like to talk about where she went, and my mother followed his lead. But now some things are starting to make sense… but I still have about a million questions to ask them all."
"Yeah," said Kovu simply. "Yeah, it's weird to think they were hiding so much."
"The weird thing is, I'm not mad about them keeping things from me," said Kiara. "I don't think they even knew if Kopa would ever come back, but they also couldn't tell me about him in case Zira took an interest in me and I let something slip, because I was only --"
"--Only a child, right," finished Kovu shrewdly. Kiara had to hand it to him; he was certainly being very supportive.
"It's just…" Kiara cast around for the right word to describe the morning, but came up short.
"Wild," said Kovu again.
"Yeah."
A/N: More to come, guys! And thanks to witchywomanpicz and Airezi for reviewing! Reviews make my day :)
