Chapter One
A/N: Names, is it just me or is it really hard to come up with them?
Queen Kala awoke to shouting and chanting, "Damn those rebels, what is it now?" she asked, expecting her mate, Ruco to be beside her.
Recieving no response from him, she rolled over to see if he'd moved overnight, "Son of... he'd better not be out there if he knows what's good for him." she swore under her breath
Making her way out of the den into what would normally be considered a nice morning, she saw Luco attempting to address the rebels, "Ruco! A word with you please." she demanded, placing an insistant paw on her mate's thick almond-brown shoulder.
Ruco shook his head, "No. Kala they have to realize that we aren't going anywhere. The rains and herds will come back. They just need to have faith." he said, turning his attention to the angry mob of ten lions.
Kala shook her head and glared at him, her hazel eyes meeting Ruco's crimson-brown ones, "Ruco, they have their heads shoved in the dirt. They wouldn't listen to you even if they wanted to."
Luco was having none of that, "I am going to do my job and address my pride, with or without your approval." he declared, leaving none of it up for any form of debate.
Kala shook her head, "I'm your mate. I swore to support your decisions no matter what. But that doesn't mean I have to like them."
"King Ruco's going to talk to us. How wonderful for royalty to grace us on this fine morning." one of the rebels declared as Luco took his place atop the north-facing outcropping.
Ruco looked down at the many unhappy faces below, 'Kings above, am I really that bad of a leader?' he thought
"Friends" he started, "I understand that most of you are concerned about the sudden lack of substantial food, or substantial water."
"Ha! Concerned? Are you joking with us?" one in the mob shouted in outrage
Ruco shook his head, "Listen. We've been through hard times before, we all know the story of the great die off." he said, getting his speech back on track, "But there is no reason to be alarmed, the rains will come back. They're only three weeks late."
"The great die off was a thousand years ago!"
"Do you know how much water is left in the watering hole? NONE!"
"We're surviving off field mice!"
"Do you know how much rain could fall in three weeks?"
"We need to go somewhere that has food and water!"
"And where would you suggest that we go?" Ruco asked, having enough of the crowd and their unwillingness to listen to him
The crowd grew quiet, a few whispered amongst themselves but none produced an immediate answer
"Pride Rock." Came a tiny male voice from the back of the crowd
The crowd parted in two to let the 9 month old cub explain himself, his tiny golden-brown form quivering in fear as he took note of everyone watching him.
Ruco didn't know what to say, "Pride Rock is...well...it's a myth." he started to explain, taking careful note of his tone
The cub didn't seem to like having his idea dismissed like that, "My daddy used to tell me all kinds of stories about how we came from there after the great die off." he argued
Rubbing his temples in frustration Ruco asked, "What's your name little one?" keeping a relatively neutral tone, but letting enough anger show that let everyone know that he was not about to be called out by a cub.
"Ranar." the cub replied, averting his forest green eyes to the ground in anticipation of the ass chewing he was about to recieve.
Ruco however took a different approach, "Cubs, they say the darndest things, don't they parents?" he asked, recieving no real reply, save for a mumble or two, "What makes you believe in the myth of Pride Rock little Ranar?" he asked the cub
Ranar clearly wished he'd never spoken up at that point, "My daddy said I'm the last decendant of the Pride Rock royal family, so I have to believe it exists." he said, now looking Ruco in the eye.
Ruco did not laugh at the cub's statement, "And where is your daddy now young one?" he asked
The 9 month old cub's voice cracked a little and tears formed at the edges of his eyes, "He died, right after mommy did. I miss him." he said holding back the wave of emotion that threatened to overtake him.
"Does making cubs cry feel good to you Ruco?" a member of the angry mob called out
"I say we make him cry." another shouted
"Screw that, I say we kill him!"
"Death to Ruco! Death to Ruco!" the crowd began chanting as they advanced toward where Ruco and Kala sat in disbelief.
Ruko licked Kala's beige cheek, "I'm sorry." he said
"It's not your fault. Kings help us all." she said
Kala embraced her mate and the two were inseperable, until the very end.
Ranar stood in shock at what he'd just witnessed, a older male stepped forward from the crowd to attempt to justify the crowd's actions to him. His father had taught him the difference from right and wrong, and no matter what the male would say, Ranar knew that what the crowd had just done was very very wrong.
"Are they dead?" Ranar asked the tan lion, noticing a deep red stain on his right forepaw
The male nodded, "Yes buddy, they are dead." he said, not seeming very sorry for what the crowd had done
Ranar took an instinctive step backwards, "Are you going to kill me too?" he asked, genuinely afraid for his life
The male shook his head and clicked his tounge, "No no no no no...why on earth would we do that? Ruco and Kala were standing in our pride's way and holding us back. you are our future, and therefore a way forward. Why would we want to destroy forward progress?"
"Natamu, what of the loyalists? Will they not retaliate after learning of such an attack?" came a voice in the crowd, asking this of the male
Natamu turned and nodded, "yes, but they can not stop us from leaving, we shall head south." directing his attention back to Ranar he said, "I'm sorry you had to see that Ranar. Now come with us, we will find a place for you to grow up and be happy." he said
Ranar took three more steps back, "No. I want to go north, that's where daddy said Pride Rock was." he asserted
"Look Ranar, as much as I hated him, Ruco was right. Pride Rock doesn't exist, it's a cub's bedtime story."
Ranar began crying, "No. it's not daddy said it's out ther-" he started
Natamu exploded in rage, "Listen you little BRAT, you can go chasing a myth if you want to. The rest of us actually want to survive."
Ranar's courage spiked, something inside him was pleading with him to retort to Natamu's insults, "Fine. I'm going to find Pride Rock. and when I do, you'll be sorry." the 9 month old cub shouted back taking four steps forward back to his original position.
"He can't be serious..."
"He'll be dead within a week."
"Shit, I'll give him a day. No more."
Natamu looked back at the crowd, "Quiet!" he demanded
The crowd grew silent as Natamu turned his gaze back on Ranar, "Good luck little one, when the buzzards are swarming around you, and you are clinging onto your last thread of life. don't say you weren't offered this opportunity."
Ranar turned and ran in the direction his dad had always said was north. He wanted nothing to do with anyone from his pride anymore.
A/N: Ohhh...darn you writer's block, I might have to come back an edit this one later.
I would really like to hear suggestions as to where to go next...I'm kinda...err...stuck. :/
Thanks for reading anyway, I appriciate your reviews.