Chapter 2- Fighting with Oneself
A/N: Okay...so here's the second chapter. It's got a little bit of depth to it, with the introduction of a few new characters, and re-introduction of another. The end of this chapter is going to be an important part of the story. I'm still not sure I should really combine chapter 1 and 2. What do you think?
The sun was beginning to fall to the horizon, it's golden rays transforming into a mystical blush of soft pink and red stretching in strokes painted beneath the scattered cloud cover. The harsh light was fading away and, in a few short hours, light would succumb to the forces of night. Even the intense heat was gradually falling into a desolate pit of what seemed to be the coldest night of winter. But some warmth still remained, for the present hours of the fading sunlight.
Beneath the outstretched finger of Pride Rock, a group of nearly twelve lionesses lazed around in the shadows. Some wrestled with each other, nipping playfully at another lioness' ear, while other simply rested their bodies on the cool soil, chatting with one another. For the first time in what seemed to be years, smiles stretched across every lioness' face.
"I was so surprised when Kovu and Kiara jumped into the battle, between Zira and King Simba yesterday. To interrupt a battle of the Royals is criminal among every pride living," a lioness by the name of Jenza stated. Her sapphire eyes darted between the two pairs of eyes watching her, Vitani's and Coigne's.
"You're not the only one that was surprised, Jenza," Vitani commented, "But they are both Royals as well. Kovu, for the Outlanders, and Kiara, for us. They have the power to intervene with such issues."
Coigne said, only the left part of her mouth moving to form her words due to a paralytic disability with her mouth, "It was still a surprise. Kovu and Kiara were nowhere to be found before or during the battle. That bird, Zazu, was looking for them the whole time, and even he didn't know where they were."
The three lionesses fell silent and rested their muzzles on their paws. The battle between the two forces stole every ounce of their energy, and they desperately needed to rest. It was nice to finally have time to relax their bodies like this. When Zira ruled them, they trained from dawn till dusk, working their bodies to their limits to please her. To all the Outlander lionesses, this rest was luxury.
After a few long minutes, Jenza finally spoke, "Vitani, it must have been difficult for you to-", she paused, "abandon your mother. How did you ever manage to get yourself to join with them?"
"Kiara was right. When I looked at both her and Kovu, I saw something beautiful between them. I lived with Kovu for my whole life, and I knew him unlike anyone else. He was nice, but there was something different about him that day, when he stood with Kiara, trying to stop us. He had changed. I didn't know what it was at the time but, when he stared directly into my eyes, I knew. It was love-his love for Kiara. I don't know how, or why, but when I understood, I didn't want to tear that love apart by killing them both." Vitani said without any regret."None of us has ever felt love before. Maybe now we have the chance."
Coigne said, awestruck, "That's...amazing."
Without being noticed, Kovu and Kiara trotted across the open savannah and to where the former Outlander lionesses were resting. They playfully nudged at each other as they came closer to the shadow cast beneath the finger of Pride Rock. However, when Kiara stumbled and fell, emitting a discomforting grunt, Vitani, Jenza and Coigne glanced over.
"Quite a clumsy Princess we've got here," Jenza commented as Kovu and Kiara seated themselves with the trio. "You should always keep yourself well coordinated, Kiara. Especially when fighting a male lion. If you're clumsy and fall when in war, you are at the mercy of your foe."
"Oh," Kiara said, her cheeks embellished with a slight hue of red, "I'm sorry...What's your name?"
"Jenza, my Princess. At your service at any time of day, no matter the situation; your faithful and loyal servant," Jenza said, bowing her head to the ground respectfully, her eyes staring downward.
"And my name is Coigne. At your service at any time of day, no matter the situation; your faithful and loyal servant," Coigne repeated, copying the same actions Jenza had done.
"You know who I am, Princess. Vitani, former Princess of the Outlander pride, at your service at any time of day, no matter the situation; your faithful and loyal servant." Vitani said, copying her partners.
They sat in the same position for several moments, waiting for a command. Kovu sighed. How was Kiara supposed to know what to do?
"You may rise, my children." Kovu commanded. All three did as he asked and lifted their heads.
"Is there something that you would like to tell us?" Vitani asked, staring into her brother's emerald eyes. Somehow, she could see the love Kovu had for Kiara in them. A shiver shook down her spine.
"Yes, there is." Kovu said, "We would ask that you accompany us on a tour of the Pridelands tomorrow morning, at the rise of the sun. We will show you the watering hole, the best hunting areas, and the trails that the herds follow. Four other Pridelander lionesses will join us, as well."
A frown dropped on Vitani's face, "Four other lionesses? Simba doesn't trust us with your lives, does he?"
Grimly, Kiara answered, "Hardly. He still doesn't think that accepting you into the pride was a good idea."
"That's a pity," Vitani said, "It will be hard to live with him until he learns to trust us."
Jenza joined in on the conversation, "We are all honored to be given this offer. We accept it willingly, and will join you in this tour of the Pridelands. We will get all the other lionesses together and be ready to depart before the sun rises tomorrow morning."
"Thank you." Kiara said and bowed to the three lionesses before her.
The trio frowned. A Royal never bows to one of a lower class than herself.
Before departing, Kiara glanced over to the west, checking on the sun's position. The sun was still hovering above the horizon, and the sky was only beginning to fade into a deeper hue of purple. In the distance, the sun's rays beat harshly against the barren rock formations scattered across the horizon, creating a glow of intense crimson and gold. It would still be an entire hour until the sun set.
But that didn't matter to her. She wanted to "fall asleep" with Kovu every moment of the day. It would be nice to have some time alone together before the crowd of lionesses, and her father, came to invade their privacy. She wanted to be with him for eternity, swimming with him in a pond of their fantasies. What could possibly be better?
Kovu and Kiara turned and walked away from the group of lionesses. They walked in the dark shadow cast by the great finger of Pride Rock, following it to the base. When an outcropping in the rock hid them from the Outlander lionesses, Kiara stopped and turned around to watch Kovu as he came to a halt a shoulder-length away from her.
"Kovu," Kiara said quietly, "the day is coming to an end. Should we-" She smiled awkwardly, "get some rest?"
Kovu replied, "Kiara, the sun is still-" He stopped speaking when Kiara pressed her moist nose lightly against his cheek. She felt so comforting...
"Please?" Kiara said, sweetly, and gently nudged Kovu.
Kiara's bright and beautiful eyes made him smile. How could he say no? "Alright," he said, "but we can't do this all the time. Being Prince and Princess of the pride comes with its' responsibilities."
Shoulder-to-shoulder, Kiara and Kovu stepped up onto the rocky stair-like structure leading to the sleeping caves carved into the thick, burnt red stone. In sync, they stepped to a higher elevation together, up the rock, as if they were one.
They stepped into the shadow of the cave. Their eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness and, with a quick glance, saw that no other lion was resting here. They must all have gone hunting..., Kiara concluded. With a slight bounce in her stride, Kiara walked along the sloped ground, down towards the back of the cave, with Kovu following. As they descended, the temperature fell to a cool but still comfortable level.
At the back of the cave, where short, pale green mosses grew with a minimal supply of water, Kiara seated herself. The cold stone wall passed it's heat to Kiara, which caused her to shiver as she leaned back in luxury. When Kovu positioned himself between Kiara's arms, resting his body against her soft stomach, his transfer of body heat eliminated her shiver. He made her flush with a comforting heat.
The two of them just laid there, comforted in the arms of one-another, watching the time pass. They watched as the sky outside the cave transformed from a soft light pink to a bloody red, clawing closer and closer to the heart of day. But, to them, the brilliant sky had not once come close to the beauty of one-another.
After their speech through contact, Kovu finally vocalized, with tension, "Kiara, for the first time in what seems to be forever, I was scared."
Kiara turned her head and looked into his eyes.
Kovu diverted his eyes from hers.
"It was yesterday, when we were facing my mother," Kovu whispered, "when you jumped off the cliff. I had the urge to jump off after you, but I couldn't. I was afraid. To jump off, and for you. I was surrounded by an unbearable confusion.
"It was then when all of the memories I had of us came flashing in front of my eyes. The times when I trained you with my knowledge, and when we were alone, staring up at the stars and the night before, when we found each other again-through the bond of love. Those could have been the final memories I had of you. If you'd have fallen too..." He paused, pain-stricken.
Kiara smiled and snuggled closer to him, "Kovu, those times are over now. We don't need to worry about those things-dangerous things- anymore. Think about the future. About how many more experiences and memories we will share together. We'll be together forever, Kovu."
A smile broke onto Kovu's face once again, and he stretched his tongue to touch Kiara's cheek. "I love you, Kiara."
At that very moment, a disturbance occurred at the cave's mouth. Two Outlander lionesses fought over a piece of meat as they stepped out of the dying sunlight and into the cave's shadow.
Kiara and Kovu struggled to separate from one another. They got caught within themselves, tripping over a stray leg sprawled in an awkward position. Kovu released a yelp as Kiara accidentally stepped on his tail. Eventually they emerged free of their tangle, and giggled sweetly. Fortunately for them, the two lionesses seemed not to notice as they continued to fight over the morsel of meat.
Simba emerged from behind the two fighting lionesses. Just before one lioness batted the other on the head with a revealed claw, Simba's came down upon the meat and split it. The two females had their share of meat. Together, they bowed to their king.
Simba trotted to the back of the cave where Kiara and Kovu were sitting and shot his daughter a cold glance. He passed by his daughter without muttering a single word, like he used to before Kovu came back into her life. Why can't he just accept that Kovu and I are together? Kiara thought to herself. She sighed.
All the other lionesses from the pride, both Pridelander and Outlander, herded into the sleeping cave after Simba. The two groups chatted amongst themselves, and hardly seemed to notice the other group. All the voices echoed in a messed up jumble of sound and no single word was easily distinguishable. Kiara and Kovu were no longer alone.
Then, following behind the large group of noisy lionesses, Kiara's mother, Nala, and two other Outlander lionesses dragged three large antelope carcasses into the cave. The soft underside of each one's neck opened to the air, where the killing blow had been struck. The fur of the carcasses looked to be fairly dirty and torn from the trip from the savannah to the cave. Nala and the other lionesses brought the dead bodies to where the Outlanders stood at the back of the cave and dropped it on the floor. Immediately afterwards, the two of the delivering lionesses, excluding Nala, retreated to the group of Pridelanders still chatting with a shallow happiness at the cave's mouth.
Vitani walked out of the Outlander crowd and toward Nala, her head lowered in respect, "I'm sorry we had to put this burden on you, my Queen. I pray that you had no difficulty?"
"Vitani, rise your head," Nala said, smiling, "We had no trouble. We're glad that you and the other Outlanders can be here with us."
"Thank you, my Queen."
Nala walked away and headed towards Simba, who was eyeing them all distrustfully. His gaze only intensified as Nala turned her back to them. As he'd said before, never turn your back on an Outsider. They can't be trusted.
Vitani rose her head to look over at Kovu and Kiara, who were sitting not far away.
"Kovu, Kiara, I think you deserve the finest meat on these carcasses. You should be the first to feed." She said.
Neither Kovu nor Kiara hesitated and both paced their way to the awaiting Outlander lionesses. As she approached with her mate, Kiara began to feel an increasing nervousness slip between the barrier of trust that created a boundary in her mind for this group. As any good Royal, however, Kiara masked this emotion with a blank face. She was able to keep pace with Kovu and stopped to stand before the carcass of the mammal, the other lionesses forming a half-circle around her and Kovu.
As Kiara lowered her head to take the first bite from the carcass, she started feeling afraid. The eyes of at least a dozen lionesses, all of whom had just recently been dangerous enemies, could be staring lustfully down at the back of her revealed neck. If these lionesses weren't completely loyal to their alliance, this could be the very last breath that Kiara breathed in the presence of her beloved...
"Ouch!" Kiara cried in pain. Surprised, she could clearly taste her own sweet blood in her mouth.
Kovu snapped his head up from the carcass with a strand of torn meat hanging out of his mouth, just as Simba came racing across the entire cave with a greatly concerned expression with Nala coming soon after, expressing with less concern and trotting slowly, and stood at a distance to watch. Just as Kiara's gagging had peaked, Simba stopped beside his daughter. He looked forward to the semi-circle of Outlander lionesses with a glare that could kill the guilty. But each one of them held pure innocence in their eyes, and all looked to be confused at what to do.
With one great big final heave of breath, she vomited a bone, sharp like the point of Pride Rock. Blood from Kiara's throat dotted the point of the bone, and yet a small amount transferred to the dirt as it clattered to the ground.
Still, Kiara smiled and said, "Sorry, I accidentally swallowed a bone. I'm fine."
The tension in everyone's face seemed to ease as she spoke her words of reassurance. Surprisingly, it was Kovu who seemed to be most relieved, not Simba. He nuzzled Kiara just beneath her ear and the two of them stepped back to allow the Outlanders to feed. It was now that Kovu swallowed the tendon of meat dangling from his mouth.
When Kovu and Kiara stood watching a fair distance away, all of the Outlanders pounced on the three lifeless antelope carcasses, tearing them apart until they were unidentifiable.
While the Outlanders devoured their meal, the Pridelanders looked upon them with disgust from the other side of the cave. All their chatting had ceased as the very first bite into one of the antelope. They had all turned their heads, eyes narrowing, to see their disgusting feeding methods. No Pridelander liked the way that they mercilessly bit and slashed at the carcasses. No Pridelander liked the way that every lioness fought over the delicious parts of the antelope. They didn't like any part of the Outlander's eating habits.
However, Kovu and Kiara felt none of this. Instead, they felt only love and compassion for their counterparts. Being raised as an Outlander, Kovu was forced to grow in and accept this lifestyle of recklessness. But Kiara grew to accept them for who they are. She realized that it wasn't the Outlander lioness' fault that their teachers were careless and cruel; living for only one purpose: To take over the Pridelands. She'd given them another chance, and now Kiara hopes that the rest of her Pride can do the same.
The Outlanders had quickly devoured their meal and, when finished, spread out through their half of the cave and comfortably laid their bodies down on the dirt while they digested. Again, a tension of caution rose among the two groups as conversation again began sprouting among the lionesses. As time passed, everything seemed to progress just as it had the rest of the day.
But not everything was as golden as it seemed. Among the two groups, only two lionesses, one from each pride, made contact with each other. But the contact wasn't a positive experience. Nobody had noticed that Jenza was slowly inching toward one of the Pridelander lionesses, who kept her wary eyes locked on the approaching female. When Jenza came dangerously close to the Pridelander, the Pridelander hastily got to her feet and bared her teeth.
Seconds later, Jenza charged. The two lionesses clashed with a force of aggression and hate towards one another. Jaws and paws scrambled to make contact, and the two of them fought a heated battle. Luckily, however, it was Kovu and Kiara who reached the fight first and, somehow, were able to get between the two lionesses. Kovu faced Jenza and Kiara faced the Pridelander.
"Jenza, what's wrong with you?" Kovu growled, "You know better than to attack someone of your own pride!"
"She," Jenza replied harshly, growling as she spoke which made her words nearly ununderstandable, "is not one of our own, Kovu! She's a filthy Pridelander!"
The two lionesses growled loudly at each other and, by this time, everyone in the cave was staring at the scene playing out before their eyes.
Kovu stared directly into Jenza's eyes, "Jenza, I know that wasn't your initiative to engage in a fight. I've grown up with you, you're too blind for hate. It's always been something physical that makes you thirst for a fight."
She snarled again, but this time at the insult, "Those hideous eyes have been staring at me all night. They were filled with hate. Even I could see that much. I had to do something to teach her proper manners!"
Kovu simply nodded and Kiara rose her voice above the snarling, "Starlight, is this true?"
"I was watching her, yes. But I didn't hate her. Not then, at least." The lioness named Starlight said, "I wanted to try and figure the Outlanders out. If we're going to be living with them, we'll need to figure them out first. Now I realize that it'll be impossible to live comfortably with those creatures!"
The two of them roared even louder at one another.
"Silence!" Kovu shouted, and they both fell to silence, "I don't want to see either of you fighting one another ever again. Got it? And if I do, you'll both be sleeping alone on the savannah, never to set eyes on Pride Rock ever again."
This comment got both the Pridelanders and the Outlanders whispering in frightened tones. It wouldn't be easy to live alone on the savannah after being exiled from Pride Rock.
Kiara spoke over the whispers, "We'd all better get some sleep now. Tomorrow will be a big day for many of us, and we need our energy."
Nobody complained. The sun had set a while ago and everyone was beginning to feel tired. While the Outlanders filed out of the sleeping cave, the Pridelanders spread apart further to their usual spots. Jenza stole one last glance at Starlight before stepping out of the cave.
Kovu dropped his head heavily on Kiara's shoulder, who was now sitting down, watching the Outlanders leave. The argument he just had with one of his best childhood friends had left him exhausted. Kiara inched closer to Kovu and wrapped her tail around the back of Kovu's waist, comforting him.
But if the two of them thought that this would be the final chapter of their day, they were sadly mistaken. Nala slowly trotted towards the couple.
"Kiara, Kovu, could I please speak to the two of you before you go to sleep for the night? I want to talk to you about certain matters, and I don't think it should wait," Nala said, looking at the two of them in turn.
Without hesitating, Kiara and Kovu both followed Nala out of the cave to a world underneath the band of the starry night sky.
A/N: And here you go. Chapter 2! I really had a fun time writing this chapter. All these different connections to the characters and the plot-the feeling was just too lovely to imagine! What did you readers think about it? And...do you think I should combine chapter 1 and 2? Or are they too different now? Please, review!