Ch. 5- A Chance at Redemption
A yearling lion cub raced through the early light onto the jutting point of Pride Rock. Skidding to a stop he took a deep breath of fresh air, staring hopefully up at the sky. "Oh man!" he muttered, looking disgruntled. "Doesn't look like it's going to rain today either."
"And did you think that the rain might run away if you had slept in just a little longer?" Sarabi mocked her rambunctious son as she padded over. Tasa blushed beneath his fur, the top part of his growing stripe of a mane falling into his eyes. "Irritated the cub blew it out of his face, setting himself companionably beside his mother.
"I was just so excited to go out and play with Spite that I couldn't sleep any longer! You did say we could go explore the termite mounds on our own…." Warily the prince looked sideways at his mother, as though afraid she might retract the permission.
"Do you guys promise to cross the river using the dam so Siika and I don't have to come and save you from crocodiles?" she asked, raising her eyebrows questioningly.
"Well we did want to count how many teeth the biggest ones had…" Tasa let the sentence hang unfinished, grinning impishly up at his mother. Sarabi laughed out loud and nudged him toward the ramp with her head.
"Get out of here you little rascal!" She smiled proudly as he yelled back his thanks, racing down the tan stone to the savannah floor. He's growing so big, she thought, catching the flash of red from his growing mane. Though I do wish he wasn't so thin, she frowned a little as Tasa disappeared into the long grass, heading towards the elephant graveyard to meet up with Spite.
"Sarabi!" Sarafinas' voice was surprised as she came out of the cave and saw the queen. "I didn't expect you do be up so early." Kindly the queen looked at her closest friend and explained,
"Tasa was too excited about his little adventure with Spite to let me dream of missing the sunrise."
"Did they go out alone?" Sarafina asked, her eyes showing a little concern. The other lionesses nodded,
"They're responsible boys, they'll be careful. And the hyenas won't bother Tasa," she added a little sadly. "They know they'll have to deal with Scar if they pester him at all."
"If food gets any scarcer they may not think it's worth listening to the king," Sarafina spat out the last word as though it tasted bitter on her tongue. Sarabi was silent, and a sad look clouded her face until Sarafina spoke up again. "Sorry, I didn't mean to worry you."
"It's fine 'Fina, I know it's true." the lion queen smiled and quickly changed the subject. "Now how are those newest cubs of yours?"
"Their eyes just opened this morning, come in and see!" Sarafina said proudly, turning back to the cave with Sarabi following her.
"Back already mom?"
"Yes, thank you for watching them Nala," the mother lioness spoke gratefully as she lay down by her nearly grown daughter, shifting two fuzzy cubs from Nalas' front paws to her own. Lovingly the lioness licked the lighter colored cub, "This sweet little girl is Kala."
"She looks just like you did when you were a baby," Sarabi whispered to Nala as they admired the sleeping cub.
"And this little man," Sarafina continued, nudging the male cub in front of his sister so they could see, "is name Kiveh." The queen gasped in shock as the male cub opened his eyes and stared directly at her. Except for the fact that his eyes were green instead of gold he looked exactly like Simba had.
"He…he's just like…" Sarabi began to say and found she couldn't get breath enough to finish.
"I know," Sarafina said gently, watching her best friend with concern. Nala shifted from paw to paw nearby, unsure how the queen would react to such a strong reminder of her first born son.
"May I hold him?" Sarafina nodded and picked the cub up gently by his scruff to deposit in the queens arms as she lay down. "Nala why don't you go out and soak up some sun before you need to go out with the hunting party?" The young lioness opened her mouth to argue, but relented with a sigh.
"Fine," she grumbled, turning and walking out of the cave. The two mothers giggled as they heard her mutter about never being included when they talked about the good stuff.
"She stills acts like a cub sometimes," Sarafina grinned as her oldest disappeared.
"That's not such a bad thing. Though it's seems like she really likes these two," Sarabi spoke, nuzzling the cub nestled in her paws.
"She does, of course they aren't quite old enough to annoy her yet either. She might change her mind then," the other lioness responded. The smile on her face faded though, growing sad as she watched Kala yawn and curl up tighter.
"What's up 'Fina?" the queen asked.
"I just…I just can't forget," her friend replied in a quiet whisper, head hanging low as though ashamed. "They're Scars' cubs, I can't get it out of my mind."
"That doesn't matter," Sarabi said firmly, locking her gaze on Sarafina. "They've only got half of Scars' blood, the other half is yours. And that is the side they're already showing the most," she added assertively.
"I know, I know," she replied, still staring at the cream colored cub before her. "But it's not just that…Sarabi don't you realize what this could mean?" The queen felt her face contort, puzzled by what her companion was trying to point out. "They're Scars' cubs," Sarafina repeated. "Did you ever wonder what Scar would do if he had his own heirs for the throne instead of Tasa?" Sarabis' heart skipped a beat and when it started again it felt as though her blood had frozen into ice. Dumbstruck she could only stare at Kiveh as he rested trustingly in her arms, green eyes curious.
Scars' heirs…the thought looped over and over in her mind and yet the queen couldn't look away from those green eyes—the same eyes the king had. Silently she wondered if her threat from so long ago would be enough to protect her son.
"I got it!" Two voices chorused as they pounded towards the base of Pride Rock and tagged a stone that was apparently the final marker for their race.
"I totally beat you Spite!" Tasa argued good-naturedly.
"Did not! I was like 3 paw steps ahead of you!" the hyena pup countered, growling playfully.
"I believe it was a tie," another voice interrupted.
"Hello Scar," Tasa said politely, turning to smile at the king before turning back to the spat with his hyena friend. "I still say I won," he grumbled with a smile.
Scar laughed, "So determined young cub. I was wondering if perhaps you would like to go for a walk with me, I'd like to teach you some things about the kingdom."
"Really?" Tasa immediately forgot about Spite, looking up at the king eagerly. At just over a year old he still had a bit of growing to do to match Scar in height, but already the cub was solidly built, if thin from lack of food. "I would love to!" He replied, golden eyes shining eagerly.
"Well let's get going then, come on," the king commanded, turning and walking away.
"See you later Spite," Tasa shouted back over his shoulder.
"Maybe we can play again tomorrow?" the hyena yelled back.
"Sure, bye!" The princeling replied, hurrying after Scar.
For the rest of the afternoon Tasa paced along beside Scar as they toured the Pride Lands. Though the cub knew the land near Pride Rock by heart it was entirely different to see it through Scar's eyes. He listened intently as Scar explained how the land was so empty due to the large herds that had grazed on it for several years until there was nothing left for them and they had starved. Tentatively the half grown said that he had heard it was because too many had been killed from having both hyenas and lions live in the Pride Lands. Scars' face tightening as Tasa brought this up, but the king quickly recovered and countered the cubs' fears. He explained that because of the drought it merely seemed like that, the real problem was from before the hyenas had come. In fact that was why he had originally invited them into the Pride Lands, to restore the order.
Fascinated, Tasa heard stories about how the land had brimmed with life during Scars' youth; lush, green and overflowing with prey animals. Tasa lost himself in the tale Scar told about when his mother, Uru, had taught him and his brother to hunt. How easy it had been to learn stalking with prey practically waiting for them at every turn.
"Uncle Scar," the cub asked when they settled down to rest near what had once been a large watering hole and had now mostly dried up. "What was it like having a brother?"
"What?" the king spoke sharply, startled.
Tasa flinched, but asked again, "What was it like having a brother?" Scar looked at him, a distrustful look on his face. "I'm just curious," the half grown remedied quickly, desperate to have the red lion lose that cold gaze. "I never got to spend time with my brother…sometimes I wonder what it would have been like…" Uncertainly he looked up at Scar again, soft eyes blinking as he waited for an answer.
Scar sighed, "I'm sorry Tasa, I didn't mean to snap at you." The king cleared his throat, staring at the horizon and seeming to gather his thoughts. Tasa waited patiently, he had spent enough time with Scar to know that it was best to wait for him to speak. "Having a brother….is a very big challenge." Scar began, and Tasas' face grew confused. "See Tasa, having a brother is not like having a best friend. When you have spent enough time with a friend or have a fight you can go your separate ways….with a brother you cannot."
"Didn't you…didn't you get along with my dad?" Tasa asked in surprise, as though the thought had never occurred to him. Again Scars' face flickered with anger, but he took a deep breath before answering, though he didn't look at the cub as he spoke.
"No, your father and I did not get along." Tasas' face fell as Scar continued, "Our father decided that we must do everything together, but the two of us thought very differently and argued much."
"I'm sorry," Tasa murmured, feeling as though in some way it was his fault. Scar turned his head to look at the half grown cub beside him, again seeing how much he resembled his brother. Inwardly the king seethed in anger at the many wrongs Mufasa had committed against him. Then Tasa looked up, his eyes still sad with the new knowledge about his favorite uncle and the father he had never known and Scar was dragged back to reality.
"There's no need to be sorry," Scar spoke, shifting suddenly into the kinder personality he displayed only around Tasa. "You may look like your father, but in actions you two could not be further apart."
"What do you mean?"
"For one your father would never listen to me. He was extremely stubborn and bull headed. He always felt that he was right and never wanted to hear my side of the story. He felt that just because he was the oldest and first in line to be king that he could do no wrong. It didn't help that our father treated him so specially either," Scar muttered the last part in a rough tone. Then he gathered himself again and added, "You on the other hand," the king grinned fondly down at his young companion, "are an excellent listener."
"I like having you teach me things, you know a lot," the cub responded, his voice sincere. Slightly wary he asked, "Was my father really that stuck up?"
"Even kings have their flaws," Scar said solemnly. Tasa was quiet for a minute, staring thoughtfully at his reflection in the water.
"You don't have any flaws," he finally said, turning to face the king with a honest expression on his face. Scar threw back his head and laughed loudly, black mane shaking from the violent movement.
"You're just flattering me," he gasped in between breaths of laughter. Tasa grinned as the red king fondly ruffled his half mane with a velvet paw. "Thank you though," Scar said, favoring the boy with a small smile. "But I think that it's time we went back now, your mother will be wondering where you are." The cub nodded in agreement and the two of them set off for Pride Rock.
Zira saw Scar returning, and frowned when Tasa dashed from his side to find Sarabi. Heavily, because of her big belly, the kings' mate heaved herself to her feet and waddled up to him. "Scar," she called out.
"Zira, how are you? No cub yet?" The king responded, looking expectantly at her stomach.
"No, but that's why I want to talk to you," the lioness spoke back sharply. "I don't like you spending so much time with that cub of Sarabis." Scar frowned but Zira refused to be silenced. "What are you going to do when our son is born, hmm? Will you let your nephew take the throne before your own flesh and blood?"
"Of course not," Scar growled. "But we don't even know if it's a male, I won't have some silly female taking the crown," he added, the look he shot Zira daring her to contradict his thinking. Other than narrowing her eyes the lioness refused to rise to the bait. "Our child will be king," Scar continued, "but if Tasa continues to see me as a friend then that is one less contender for the throne that we must worry about."
"It would be easier to kill him!" Zira hissed softly so none of the nearby pride members could hear. Scar flinched and turned angry green eyes on her,
"You won't touch him," he growled back but the lioness continued,
"Why not? What's stopping you?" She kept matching his gaze as she spoke, refusing to stop. "You regret what you did to Mufasa don't you?" understanding suddenly dawned on her face. "Do you think sparing Tasa will make up for killing your brother? He isn't Mufasa Scar, no matter what he looks like!" her voice rose several decibels before she regained enough control.
"That's enough!" He roared to silence her, catching the attention of several lionesses nearby. "Silence," he commanded, regaining his composure. "I did what I had to do," he told her in a whisper, adding with a quiet growl, "and I have no regrets. Now get out of my sight." Scar strode past her, paws stomping angrily on the hard packed rock. Fuming the king lumbered to his favorite spot near pride rock, a shelf around one side that was always shaded from the sun and far enough away from the main cave to be quiet.
I don't have any regrets, he thought fiercely to himself as he flopped down.Mufasa deserved what he got, everything I told Tasa about him was true! He never did listen to me…he didn't even listened to dad if he thought he could get away with it. Scar snorted, his face calming as he convinced himself that he was right and Zira was wrong.I can't risk Sarabi turning the lionesses against me though, he admitted. Letting Tasa live is a small price to pay for that. Zira's wrong though! Angrily he swatted a loose stone with a paw and heard the satisfying crunch as it shattered against the solid wall behind him. It's not that I want to relieve my youth with Mufasa…though if he had been anything like Tasa we never would have had this problem!
Scars' face grew puzzled as he thought this. Even to himself he would hardly admit how he truly felt around the half grown. He felt like a teenager again, roaming the plains with Mufasa before they became fierce adversaries for their fathers' limited attention. It's just because he looks just like him that's all it brings back memories, The king convinced himself, absent-mindedly scratching an itch. But Zira's wrong, there's no need to kill him. If I don't the lionesses will continue to follow me, and keeping Tasa close to me will prevent him from trying to take the throne. It's all just like I planned it. Comforted the king laid his head on his paws, letting out a huge sigh as he closed his eyes.
A/N- Sorry I took so long to update, I hope I made up for it with a slightly longer chapter. Anyways here's some explanations/disclaimers: Hopefully I didn't make Scar come off as too nice, I'm not one of those people who thinks he's merely understood. But I thought that because Tasa looks so much like Mufasa it would be easy for Scar to get lost in memories of the past where things weren't so bad. And just maybe he might feel as though he got a second chance to make things right by spending time with Tasa. Anyways, tell me how you think it worked out! Thanks for reading!