The sun had risen over the beautiful Pridelands. Princess and future queen Kiara ran out of the cave along with her friend, Sherise onto the peak of Pride Rock, and smiled happily at the beautiful day the sun had brought them.
Though Kiara had memory lost she was headstrong and love to explore. As Sherise was more skeptical. Tend to follow the rules, but it was a bit difficult when hanging around Kiara.
"Wow!" Kiara cried out in awe as gazed out into the kingdom under the golden glow from the kopje edge.
Sherise shook her head and rolled her purple eyes. This earned an annoyed glare from Kiara.
"What's so funny!?"
Sherise smiled, shaking her head. "Nothing at all."
Kiara huffed, but with a smile of her own began heading down the rocky slope.
Sherise giggled before following her friend. The gold princess was suddenly plucked up from the ground by the king, making Sherise quickly stop in her tracks.
"Whoah. Where do you think you're going in such a hurry?" Simba asked playfully, picking Kiara with his paw gently when she tried to escape over to a giggling Sherise.
"Daddy! Let go!" Kiara giggled after Simba placed her back on her paws.
Simba smiled, but still looked a bit stern. "I just want you to be careful." Kiara didn't pay that much attention, too busy giggling and trying to catch a pretty butterfly, before the gold cub fell on her light beige belly when Simba pressed his paw on her tail gently.
"Kiara.. Are you listening? Accidents can happen." Though not addressed to her, Sherise listened while Kiara just looked bored. Kiara had heard this speech a dozen times.
"You could easily get hurt-"
"'Hurt, or stepped on, or even get lost'." Kiara copied.
Simba sighed but continued anyways. "And remember. I want you to stay by Pride Rock at all times."
"'At all times', I know." Kiara finished with her father at the end, while Sherise just nodded. "'And if you see any strangers, don't talk to them. Come straight home.' Okay, okay! Can we go now? PLEASE?" Kiara smiled innocently as Sherise nodded with Kiara, as the princess gave a big smile that she clearly inherited from the king and queen.
Simba hummed, "Very funny,"
Queen Nala made herself known when she sat down next to her mate and chuckled. "Mind your father, Kiara. And Sherise listen to Simba." she told them and they smiled knowingly.
"Yes, mom."
"Yes, Queen Nala."
Kiara and Sherise chorused together. Then Simba said one last thing.
"And stay away from the Outlands." just then, Zazu flew over Simba's head and seated himself beside the cubs.
"Nothing there but a bunch of backstabbing, murderous, Outsiders." Zazu gritted his beak and sneered, as if these 'Outsiders' were right in front of them.
"Zazu's right." Simba agreed, looking at the direction of the Outlands in disgust for a moment, before turning back to his daughter. "You can't turn your back on them."
Sherise knew this was not the time to talk back, but for Princess Kiara, she looked confused.
"Really? How come?" she asked innocently, but Simba just shook his head. Kiara wasn't ready to hear the truth about the Outsiders.
"Mmm. Never mind. Just run along now." he told them, but Kiara still wanted to know. But he wouldn't give it to her. And he's not sure if he would, "You'll understand someday. Go on."
The cubs smiled, nuzzled and weaved in between Simba and Nala's legs and then ran off.
"And stay on the path I marked for you!" Simba called out after them.
Nala chuckled, finding this rather funny. "Simba. Who does she remind you of, hmm?"
Simba looked confused at his mate. "Huh? What? Who?"
"She's just like you were when you were young." the tawny lioness told the king, nuzzling him, but he didn't return it.
"Exactly! Don't you relies the dangers we put us in?" he asked, looking in the cubs direction, before being pinned easily by a playfully insulted Nala.
"You mean the dangers you put us in," Nala told him, and he chuckled, realizing his mate was right as she nuzzled him and he nuzzled back. They pulled away, still smiling.
"She'll be fine." with that, the queen walked away, making her way to the cave as Simba stared after her, not that comforted by her words
...
Sherise and Kiara were chasing the same butterfly from earlier, trying their best to catch it. Before it landed on a rock.
Kiara smiled and lowered herself close to the ground, with Sherise following close behind.
"The mighty hunter have cornered her prey." Kiara whispered excitedly as Sherise smiled with her friend, both growling playfully before pouncing, but only succeeded in hitting their heads together.
They rubbed their heads with their paws, before Kiara nudged Sherise to look at what she was seeing.
Just beyond the ridge, was a barren sandy wasteland.
Sherise looked cautious, but Kiara just smiled in awe.
"Cool! The Outlands."
"This is bad." Sherise looked back at where they came from, only to see the speck of their home, "We've gone too far! We should probably head back!" the dark brown cub stepped away from the rock and back on the path, but then noticed that the gold princess wasn't following. "Kiara! Come on!" she called to Kiara, but she didn't see or hear her.
"I wonder what's out there?"
Sherise groaned, mumbling something about if she really was the youngest. "Kiara, come on. Your parents said..."
Kiara rolled her amber eyes and looked at one of his closet friends. "They said to stay away but didn't say why." the princess noticed that Sherise was still hesitant. "Just this once?"
Sherise frowned. "Fine, then we go straight home."
Kiara smiled before the two ran off and made way for the Outlands.
Sherise followed Kiara through the bit of the Pridelands until the grass disappeared. Sherise looked around unsure before moving her purple eyes towards the princess. "Isn't this close enough?"
Kiara rolled her eyes before leaping on a log. "You worry too much,"
Sherise frowned and shook her head before focusing on her friend to see Kiara trip over a lifted piece of wood before tumbling down and rolled into a bit older cub that was sitting, looking around.
Sherise joined Kiara's side just as the dark brown pre-teen with a line of darker brown mane going down his chest, got up and glared at them with a small growl.
"Who are you Pridelanders?"
The more the stranger approached the more the princess and her friend jumped away, keeping their backs away from the other cub. The more they moved side to side to more the stranger got curious until his curiosity got the better of him.
"What are you two doing?"
Kiara glared as she stood by Sherise. "My father said to never turn our backs on a Outsider!"
The Outsider stranger smirked as he looked the two Pridelanders, mostly at Kiara. "You always do what your daddy says?"
Sherise was going to answer but Kiara beat her to it. Kiara frowned as she growled. "No!"
Sherise just frowned as the dark brown stranger laughed before he turned away and started hopping on rocks across the river.
"An Outsider doesn't need anybody. I take care of myself."
Kiara and Sherise's ears perked up then as their eyes shinned with curiosity. "Really? Cool!" as they followed the older stranger across.
The stranger looks back at the two cubs and notices a huge crocodile rising up behind them with its mouth gaping.
"Wuhh... Waaaahh!"
Sherise and Kiara turned and their smiles dropped as they saw the crocodile.
"Aaaaahhh! Run!" shouted the princess as she and Sherise ran off before the reptile's teeth came crashing down. "This way!"
The friends and the dark brown stranger narrowly escaped, leaping from rock to rock across the river and out of reach of the crocodile's jaws as more rise up out of the water.
The three rested on two unmoving "stones" further down the murky river, and begin to pant and giggle.
"That was a close one." laughed the stranger.
Kiara and Sherise laughed in agreement. "Yeah, real close."
The "stones" they were sitting on started to rise up and reveal themselves as more crocodile heads.
"Whooaaahhh..." screamed the stranger, Kiara and Sherise.
Kiara quickly ran up a tree out of reach, however, Sherise and the stranger ran past the princess leaping from crocodile to crocodile down the river.
"Hey! What about me?" yelled Kiara yelled her eyes wide with fear.
"You gotta take care of yourself! But I will distract them! Then you run!" shouted the stranger as he raced across the crocodiles' heads.
The Outsider stranger slips off the last crocodile into the water along with Sherise. As they came up gasping for air, the crocodiles loom over them.
Kiara was swiping at the reptiles from her branch with a small growl, when she saw her friend and the Outlander in trouble.
"Look out!" yelled Kiara with her dark brown rimmed ears against her head.
The stranger was paralyzed by fright, the gaping mouth in front of him was suddenly clamped shut by Kiara and Sherise leaping on top of it.
"Move it!" the Pridelands cubs growled lowly, they wanted to get out of the river and the quicker, the better.
The three scramble up a branch and up onto land, out of danger. On top they panted and rest for a few. Then move back to look over the edge . The crocodiles are massing below, furious at being cheated out of their meal.
"We did it!" Kiara exclaimed excitedly.
Then she and Sherise raspberried the angry reptiles below.
"Ha!" laughed the Outsider as he turned along with Sherise and Kiara.
The three moved back from the edge and recount their adventure. Kiara stopped walking and turned to face the Outsider as Sherise sat by her.
"Whoah, man- did you see those teeth! They were going eat you, but I jumped on her head - and I bumped her so good..." laughed Kiara as she was on her back.
As the future queen of the Pridelands was retelling the adventure they didn't notice a pale tan lioness watching.
Sherise was quiet as she watched the Outsider and Kiara before she spoke with a small smile of her own. "You were pretty brave."
"Yeah, well you both were pretty brave too. My name is Kovu," smiled the stranger with proudness.
"I'm Kiara." the princess smiled at the older male.
Sherise rolled her purple eyes before looking at Kovu. "I am Sherise."
"Well Kovu, wanna play?" Kiara asked as she bowed playfully. Kovu tilted his head and Kiara groaned. "Play? As in you run and I tag."
Kovu just looked at her new friend like he had two heads before looking at Sherise and back to Kiara with a deep frown.
"Well if you don't know how to play, then let's fight." Sherise said getting in a playful fighting position.
"Well alright..." said Kovu following suit. That he does know.
Just as Kovu let out a playful growl a massive gold paw came into view and a loud roar was heard.
Kovu looked up to see Kiara's father, King Simba. Zira jumps from her hiding spot and roars in the king's face.
"Simba!" growled the Outsider lioness.
"Zira!" Simba growled back with bared teeth.
Just then Nala showed up with Jesús and a few lionesses along with Timon and Pumbaa.
"Nala!" Zira snarled before she turned her eyes on the pale beige lion that supposed to be her brother. "Jesús!"
Jesús and the gold king just growled.
"Timon and Pumbaa! Now that we all know each other get out of our Pridelands!" yelled a light brown meerkat on top of a red warthog's head.
"These lands belong to Scar!" roared Zira in Timon and Pumbaa's direction.
Simba stepped up and sneered at his cousin "I banished you, so you and your cub, get out!"
"Oh you haven't met my nephew, Kovu." Zira tore her eyes from Simba to her sister. "Your nephew as well." before moving them back to the glaring king. "He was paw chosen by my father to follow in his paw prints- and to become...King!"
Simba growled as Prince Jesús sighed sadly at that as Timon laughed "King? More like a fuzzy Maraca!"
A creamy brown lioness, Ramona chuckled at Timon's joke before turning her attention on the her king and queen.
"Kovu..." Zira started as she began to walk around the frighten Kovu. "Was one of the last born before you..." Zira stopped and gave Simba a evil glare before continuing, "Exiled us to the Outlands..."
Jesús's dark brown eyes narrowed in disgust, roared before getting in Zira's face with a snarl. "You know why you were exiled!"
The pale tan lioness smirked and finished with a dramatic stand, "Where there's little food and little water."
King Simba had enough and stepped up and growled. "You know the penalty for returning to the Pridelands!"
Zira glared at the gold, red mane lion. "But the child does not! However... If the king need his pound of fresh-" the daughter of Scar nudges Kovu toward Simba, daring him to show either ruthlessness or cowardice.
Simba looked from the shaking pre-teen to his would be sister-in-law and growled in disgust. "Take him and get out. We are finished here." then he grabbed Kiara by the princess's nape while Jesús grabbed Sherise.
Zira walks over and looks down at the terrified cubs. "Oh no Simba,... We have barely begun." Zira sneered before tuning and heading towards the Outlands with Kovu following.
"Bye..." whispered Sherise and Kiara.
"Bye..." Kovu stopped and looked back before he whispered back before turning around and disappearing with his seething aunt.
Kovu was too afraid to think about what will happen when they eventually get home.