Kamba lifted his left paw to eradicate the buds of fluid forming underneath his frizzed mane. Tonight had been a painfully demanding evening; what with the destruction of the enemy"s strongest. He almost felt the slightest bit sorry for his weak and dismal opponents. So wrapped up in their little family world, unable to see what a cruel joke the world clearly was.

As his paw rubbed abstemiously across the side of his cheek a knife of pain sliced itself onto his face. With a seethe, he proceeded to wipe his paw across, removing it from his face to find a large stain of blood wiped clean across.

Damn, He scoffed internally, Kiara has some strength in her to hit like that.

He proceeded to clean his face, using his tongue and right paw to gently lick the blood stains off, only becoming yet more and more viciously painful each time his moist paw scrubbed the wound. As he stopped, he felt a much softer, gentler touch to his face proceed to wipe. As his startle flipped him round, he was most surprised to find Jeshi clearing the blood off of him.

"Does that hurt?" She attempted to whisper but choked instead with a croaky voice.

"No, no you're good." Kamba replied with a gentle smile; the most hostile he had been all night.

"I saw her hit you, and it looks pretty bad. Just don't-"

"No offense, Jesh, but I'd rather see her dead than just ignore her."

The abrupt dark undertone in his voice implicated the frustration that his family remained alive. Made clear to Jeshi almost immediately, she removed her paw from the side of his face, lowering her ears and staring at the ground.

"Sorry."

"Don't be, I won. That's enough of a reward, wouldn't you agree?"

His capricious behaviour was dazing but it wasn't to be looked much into. She understood his reasoning and that was a good enough excuse for her.

"I-I really can't believe it," Kamba continued in his lighter tone. "It's done. I'll never have to see that orange fool anymore."

"Do you think they'll fight back? Like, soon?"

"Perhaps. I'm hoping they'll wise up and join the line to die but, hey, you can't expect everything from lesser minds."

He's so arrogant... so, handsome...

She shook her head and licked her paw, cautiously returning it back to clean the mangled side of Kamba's face. The lion king shut his eyes and allowed the lioness to freshen him up; freshening which soon turned into a gentle stroke. They kept silent as a brisk wind crashed into their faces. Once Jeshi removed her paw from his face, she stared at the lion's open cheek which revealed scratches that weren't too deep and would heal up alright. Once the abrupt wind came to a slow stop, Kamba's eyes slithered open and his head threw down to stare at the rocky floor below him. A slow, toothy but devious grin found itself slicing onto his face with a gentle growl to match. He had quite an idea, indeed.

"I have a little proposition for you." Kamba sniggered, crinkling his nose while thinking of a glorious plan he had in mind.

"O-oh?" Jeshi stammered with a hint of fright in her voice. She wasn't quite sure why; he frightened the living daylights out of her sometimes. She continued to listen as his cut grin slithered wider. If he grinned harder his jaw would break in two.

"I fancy a bit of late night hunting, wouldn't you agree?"

"I-I guess It's an okay night to go?"

"Heh, you see, the thing I want you to hun-"

"You expect me to go?!"

Jeshi's snap wielded a vicious silence between the two, and she lowered her ears once again. Fear. Lots of it. Kamba remained silent for a few brief moments. He felt a slither of emotion centre him, only causing him to feel intensely vicious. Jeshi attempted not to make a sound; angering more would be bad.

"I want you to..."

"...catch them?"

"Wait - not just..."

"Do you want me to bring them alive, "cause, I can bring them as dead as the day if you like." Jeshi couldn't control herself, but she knew he was going to eventually explode.

"Shut up, I -"

"I'll just slaughter them all and-"

"Jeshi, shut up."

"And-"

"SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP!"

Jeshi, through immediate startle, swept back with her tail between her legs and her ears so low they could cover her eyes. Cowering and lowering her stance, she edged back further in case he was tempted to injure her. Why she was unable to stop herself was far beyond her; she was never nervous around anyone, not even predators or attackers. Why was she behaving so strangely? It wasn't like he was special.

Kamba seethed in frustration. If it wasn't enough she had the audacity to deny him, now she wasn't letting him finish? Still, no matter, he knew better than to overreact to petty situations. His claws extended and he began to claw at the floor, releasing the tension in his paws and once finished using his other to massage his head. Not anger, not twice in one night. He flipped round to look at a fearful dusty furred lioness with a pitiful attempt at an empathetic smile.

"I'm sorry." He whispered. Jeshi raised her stance, feeling less threatened, but the smile slapped across him was just plain creepy.

"N-no, it was my fault." Jeshi stuttered, lifting up higher and meeting gazes with the newly appointed king.

"Just go and kill them. Just get rid of them and end it so it's just done."

"Wouldn't you rather take their lives?"

"As m- as tempting, mmm- no. Set yourself a challenge. See how quick you can kill them."

"...right. Well, okay then."

The two shared a prolonged, gentle stare in which their muzzles turned up natural smiles, something they hadn't been able to pull all night. Kamba slipped away into Pride Rock to lay his head to rest. What an evening he'd had. He checked to see if his muzzle or face was still bleeding and, once he was sure it wasn't, slumped himself to the rocky floor of his new home and stared out at the purpling sky. No use in sleeping now. He watched Jeshi hop off of Pride Rock to destroy the remainder of his enemies and make his life even easier than it already was. Easier than expected, but then again, persistence wasn't a foreign trait in their family. Perhaps he could get some fun out of their next pathetic attempts of retaliation.


Nothing but a cold, unforgiving silence loomed the lions marching in single file to their own version of hell. Kiara was fully aware the death of her father was going to be inevitable, but had she'd expected it to be so sudden the shock of the night may not have punched her so hard. Behind her, a lost in thought Kovu, his eyes were glistening along the moonlight sky and not a sound from his lips, just the gentle breaths exhaling from his nose.

Behind him, a shaken Shemba, with a soft, endless shiver rolling around her fur. Nothing to say, and nothing to do. Her brother wanted to kill her, and the fact he could actually do it frightened her more than the entire ordeal; clearly, not quite how she intended the situation to end up. His filthy words spinning in her mind, how could he consider becoming so cold blooded? Shemba did not want to remember anything else at this point, she'd been through enough, and only tonight had she felt as empty as she did.

Finally, Nira, tailing on behind, a slight limp in his step and a face that was as vacant as the air. He was weak, he knew it. There was no arguing over the lack of strength and tonight hit it home. How could he ever survive as a rogue if he couldn't even handle one measly fight? His throat still ached from Kamba's thighs clenching it and his eyes dripped tears. Bloodshot and red rings bigger than the pupils themselves. He had never felt so stupid.

As the sight of Pride Rock escaped the view, the hopes of the carnivores slipped away with it. Sure, they'd have to get over it eventually, but it was not going to be easy to strategize. A huff burst from Kovu, startling the broken Princess ahead of him. She turned back, with eyes as dull as ever. He smiled as honestly as he could to her, causing her to stop dead. She flopped to the floor and allowed sobs to release themselves into the air. The stop caused a reaction of bumps into Kovu, Shemba followed by Nira. Kovu signalled them to remain silent and he gently pawed his way over to his mate, sending a soft nuzzle into her direction. Nira and Shemba did nothing but watch; right now, Shemba was in no frame of mind to even think about the lion next to her. A slight part of her didn't even care about him, but she couldn't admit that to even herself.

Along the tall grass slithered a dusty fur coat, golden eyes watching every move of the four lions. She was ready to kill. She had it in her blood; she was trained to do this. She knew she was a ruthless killer and she couldn't wait to taste their sweet, satisfying blood smothered along her muzzle. Crouching lower, Jeshi created a very slight rustling noise into the grass, not stirring the lions ahead. Fools, they may have looked like they've just been waved with a bad mood, but they were genuinely stupid for not reacting. She was sure they'd have heard something as loud as that.

No matter, she didn't care. And she never would. A toothy smile formed along her muzzle before turning into a ruthless growl.

Kovu was well aware they were no longer alone. He shot himself up from his mates nuzzle, pricked his ears as high as they would go and snarled in the direction of the waving grass. It was almost as if a sign was pointing down.

"Kamba." He growled. "You've done quite enough tonight."

Jeshi giggled to herself. Of course, it wouldn't be her to commit the crime.

"I'm ever so sorry," she spoke. "You may have your lions crossed."

Kovu was not afraid to hold back. Well aware of whom he was dealing with, he padded slyly towards her direction and fell snout-to-snout with her, creating a dark smile of his own and startling the life out of the dusty lioness. She yelped and launched herself back, breathing heavily and her paw to her heart.

Kovu chuckled. "So sorry to ruin the show, but I think you'll find you're going the wrong way."

"Shut it." She snapped. "I'm here for a reason."

"I know. And I also know your reason. Because that stupid cub can't come down here and finish the job."

While she found his comments aggravating beyond belief, Jeshi almost agreed with him.

"Whatever. I am-"

Her words were cut short. The brown lion was launching himself onto her, a violent scream of surprise escaped the lioness. Nira and Shemba gasped at Kovu's abrupt attack. Kiara was watching, but at this point she really didn't care

"Now, look," Kovu snarled down to her. "I think you should forget attacking us. Do you know why? Because if you touch any of them, I am going to rip you apart. I will personally tear your head off and hand deliver it to the king personally. Do you understand me?"

"Heh, you certainly know how to speak. Of course, actions speak louder than words, don't they, Kovu?"

His paw, now unsheathed with his unforgiving claws, placed itself onto Jeshi's throat. "Oh, don't worry. I'm quite happy to finish this. I'm well aware of my ability and I know that when I promise something, I am going to live up to it. So I suggest you back down now, run back to your precious little boyfriend and avoid certain death."

"Such arrogant words for such a silly little lion."

"I will give you to the count of three. Once I pass three, I will not hold back." He pushed harder into her throat, bending down to whisper in her ear. "And trust me, I haven't tasted lion blood in a long time. Sometimes it's good to get cravings for it. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Dad!" Nira yelped. Kovu did not respond, he was ready and roaring to go. Jeshi stared up at him, preparing for him to start counting and feeling a genuine burning sensation of fear. She must not back down at this point; what would she tell Kamba? No, she was prepared.

"...One..."

The burning fear continued to fill her system. Her dark eyes, full of hatred and anger, slowly softened.

"...Two..."

Jeshi felt herself become terrified. She usually would have been able to take on a lion like Kovu, but tonight had been different. Seeing his capabilities and ruthlessness burning through his eyes was too much for her to handle. With a soft squeak, she whispered; "Get off me."

"Pardon?" Kovu growled.

"Get off me." She said equally as quietly. Without hesitation, Kovu knew his point had been made, and he took his paw from her throat, jumping off and stepping away, sitting himself down and snarling to himself. His forearms clenched hard, his teeth grind together, and a high feeling of resentment lit through him.

Jeshi scrambled to her paws, dusted herself and thought for a moment. Stroking her neck, she knew that it wasn't exactly fair, but who played fair during a war? In an attempt to fight back, she roared and swung her paw to Kovu's direction, only to be batted to the floor by his own slap to the face. When she hit the ground, it was unbearable. A huge crack exploded from her body and she lay there motionless for a moment.

Kovu exhaled quickly, anger had been released from his body like never before. He felt relief; it was good to get a kick onto an enemy. He chuckled with a dark grin and nudged her ever so gently.

"Get up." he ordered. Jeshi remained on the ground. She felt a grinding pain throughout her head, the shock of it all sent a lot more hurt to it. How could she have been defeated by the likes of Kovu? Had she lost her touch? Surely not, she couldn't lose it at this stage of the game. Not yet, anyway. With a groan, she began to lift herself from the ground, Kovu's point made crystal clear to her. Licking her face clean, she stared into his direction and remained her daggered look onto him.

"Fine." She spat. "I'll think of something. This is certainly the last time I ever let you go."

"Hold on," Kovu smirked. "I don't think we're quite finished."

"N-no, we are." Nira chimed in. "L-let's just go back."

"Nira, adults are talking."

Nira gave a disgusted look to his father. Adults? What, did he think he was a cub? He certainly wasn't. Shemba stroked his back gently and he looked away with the same disgusted look spread on his face. Adults are talking...

"As I was saying, I have a little, what do you call it, proposition for you."

"The answer is already no. I am not working with a Pridelander." Jeshi snarled

"Hang on; I think it might benefit you, actually. It's no great loss on your part, really."

Her head cocked to the side, furrowed eyebrows and pursed lips. Was she actually interested? Hell, if it was easy on her part then why should she care? She knew going against Kamba would be the last thing she wanted to do, but, seeing as she was already in enough trouble for not even attacking them, she figured she might as well.

"Go on..."

"Kiara," Kovu called, swivelling his head and looking down at his mate. "Take Nira and Shemba back. I have to do this alone."

Without hesitation, she nodded gently and lifted herself from the ground, planning her speech to Nala and how to break the news to the cubs. Nira and Shemba followed on behind, Nira's eyesight following his father as he walked away. He was completely dumbfounded, was he actually going to make a deal with her?

Kovu waited for the trio to be out of sight, turned back to the dusty lioness and grinned a small grin.

"You've always been a Pridelander, haven't you?" Kovu asked.

"I did what I did to survive." Jeshi replied in a slight snap

"Well, isn't that what we all do? You see, I only think you're fighting against us because you think you're superior to us. It's got nothing to do with Kamba, or the "legend of Scar," or anything to do with us. You have no grudge against us."

"You're lying."

"Well, you tell me. I'm not you. I'm only speaking from what I've observed, and clearly, there's something other than him. You think you're better than us."

"Where are you even going with this?"

"Well, since you think you're so better, then why fight on one team?"

Jeshi growled. "Why would I join your side?"

"Oh, please, if you ever asked to join us we'd kick you away so fast you wouldn't know what hit you. But all I'm asking is, you like to be ahead of things, right?"

She furrowed her eyebrows again. "W-what? Are you suggesting I fight against andwith Kamba?"

"No. I'm asking of you to be a messenger lion as it were."

"So, you want me to snitch?"

"Call it what you like. I think messenger sounds more fitting."

Jeshi recoiled. She choked on her laughter and looked back to him, his expression still solid and his eyesight not moved from her. She knew he wasn't joking, but his proposition did gain a few laughs from her. Once she composed herself, she sat back in front of Kovu, more lounged and still chuckling slightly.

"You've got to be kidding me. You're serious?"

Kovu blinked in response.

"You want me, on my own accord, to give you heads up on Kamba's plans? There isn't enough bribery in the world."

Kovu shrugged. "I wasn't planning on bribing you."

"Oh, really? What are you going to do, magically change my mind?"

Without warning, Kovu grasped her by the throat and let her attempt to struggle away. He grunted at her and clamped tighter onto her throat. Jeshi attempted to scream, but the lack of air was making it impossible to do. She felt a cold shiver slither down her. Kovu unsheathed his longest claw and held it to her throat.

"I'm suggesting that if you don't," he snarled in her ear, "then you may find yourself in a rather disgusting end. Do you want that? Do you want to know what it's like to have your throat slit? Because that is exactly what I'll do. Do I really have to count again?"

"Once is enough." Jeshi choked, and shoved the enormous lion to the ground. In retort, she slammed her paw into Kovu's throat and laughed. "I ain't doin' this because I'm scared of you. I ain't even doing this because I think you have a chance of surviving, but, meet me outside the Outlands every sundown. But, I have my own terms."

Kovu kept a hard eye on the lioness. "Which are...?"

"I have total control over what I say."

"Okay."

"And, you agree never to enter the Pridelands again."

"That would render my proposition rather pointless, wouldn't it?"

"If you thought I was going to help you, clearly you do not know me very well."

"I promise nothing."

Jeshi let the lion free. She flicked her tail and turned her back to Kovu. She was not going to be dictated by him, and neither was she going to let down her guard. "Likewise."

Kovu stood, never taking his eye off of her. If he agreed, then what could she possibly do to stop him? He could still gain access and kill her once he had gotten what he needed. It wouldn't have been the first dishonest act he committed.

"Agreed."


Silence. It continued to hover over the lions. Kiara was torn; it was a choice between breaking it the hard way or the easy way. King's knew it wasn't going to be easy either way. How could she even think she was not dreaming at this moment? She had to break it to her mother that her own flesh and blood is no longer alive.

Nira kept a keen eye on Shemba. Without her saying anything, he was able to know what she was thinking. Her life was in ruins, and there was nothing anyone could say to make her feel better. Her own family had tried to kill her, and almost killed her mate. It was inevitable something was never going to be the same for her. Nira continued to pace his drowsy paws across the lands until they reached the log entrance, across the river and came to a stop after a few paces in. He held Shemba back a brief moment and attempted to speak.

"I think Mother needs to be alone for this." He suggested. Kiara said nothing and turned back to break the news to her own mother. Nira stepped up to Shemba and attempted to nuzzle her, but she pushed him away and returned to her own thoughts.

"Shems, I-I'm..."

"Don't." She exclaimed. "Don't even bother. There is nothing to say. My brother's a murderer."

"Look, I-"

She put her paw up, signalling him to stop speaking. "I saw it in his eyes from day one. The minute we arrived here, I could see his hate building up. The darkness had caught him. A-and if he's capable of that, what am I capable of? That's my own blood standing up there, cheering for his ruthless kill. What am I supposed to do? I can't turn my back on him, because He's my brother and I love him. But I couldn't do that."

"Had you considered joining his side?"

"For a bit, I did. And you know what? The thought of it was exciting. Getting what you want through force, not letting anyone stand in your way, doing whatever it takes. I loved it. I couldn't imagine anything better than being able to do that."

"Why didn't you?"

"I couldn't kill anyone. The thought is nice, well, nice enough, but I'm not a killer. I'm not passionate enough to force what I want. So, I'm sat here with you guys, planning to kill my own blood family."

Nira sighed. "It might not have to come to that."

"You say that now, but what do you think will stop him? He certainly stopped at nothing tonight and I just...I- I don't want to think."

She rested her head onto Nira's shoulder and choked on her own tears for a short moment. The silence was interrupted abruptly by a scream that could shatter the eardrums of any lion. The scream was followed by wails and cries, begging Simba still to be alive.

"She's been told." Nira sighed.

They stood up to join the pride in mourning, their steps heavy and almost dragging their paws across the Outland's hard surface, the war only just beginning.


So, 18 months ago, I declared this stories discontinuation. In those months, I have regretted that decision. I previously stated that I did not enjoy writing this anymore, and a part of me still doesn't, but I dislike the fact that it is not finished. This story is four years old in October this year and, as cliche as it sounds, it has been a part of my life the whole time. Its helped in developing my skills as a writer and helped me through a difficult time. With this in mind, I wouldn't say at all that updates are going to be, by any means, regular, but there may be some. I would like to see it finished in the future and the only way to do that is to just write it, so watch this space if you're reading it.