The cub shifted uncomfortably as she woke, blinking as sunlight poured into the cave. Zira lifted her head, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes with a large, furry paw. The little tan cub was lying in the den where the whole pride slept, snuggled in next to her sister, Vunja, surrounded on all sides by the other cubs of the pride, including her other sister Kuuma. Warm pelts pressed all around her, a paw occasionally twitching or kicking into Zira's space, but she didn't mind. She liked being snuggled in between the others; it was comfy and safe.
The five year old cub stiffened as she remembered, her whole body tensed with excitement. Today was the day! Her father, Nyeusi, King of the Pride Lands had promised to show her around the territory. She had strayed from the cave before, of course, but never far past Pride Rock, and never without other cubs and an escort. Today it would be just her and her dad, and she'd get to go farther than she'd ever gone before. He'd be showing her all the borders and all the landmarks of the kingdom. Even if she wasn't in line for the throne, it was important for her to know the territory, in case she ended up advising for her sister one day.
The princess jumped to her paws, her hip bumping against Vunja's side by accident. "Ow!" Zira looked down in surprise to see the little gray cub glaring at her with narrow eyes. "Watch it!" she warned in her little cubby growl. It wasn't very intimidating, but Zira wasn't stupid enough to say anything about it.
Zira chuckled, apologizing with a quick, "Sorry sis." Looking around in the pale sunlight in the den, she could see the rest of the pride stirring around them. Kuuma was a few paces away, stretched out on her side and blinking sleepily, a cub named Salimu pressed against her back. King Nyeusi and Zira's mother Queen Shari were lying side by side further back in the den, further from the other lions. Uncle Ahadi's usual spot was vacated, his mate Uru lying alone, a paw draped over her muzzle as she snored lightly. He must be out on a border patrol. His sons Taka and Mufasa were curled up side by side, scrunched in with the other cubs. The rest of the pride was huddled together in large tangle of paws and tails, huddled together on the cool stone floor.
Zira bounded lightly across the cave, taking care not to step on anybody. She skidded to a halt in front of her father, who was still alseep. "Daddy, wake up!" she mewed excitedly. The king shifted slightly, letting out a soft growl and burrowing his muzzle in his paws. Zira padded over to his head and placed her front paws on his nose, staring into his closed eyes. In a cheerful voice she chirped, "Wake up, Daddy! You promised to take me on a tour of the territory! C'mon!" Her paws kneaded his muzzle as her pelt buzzed with excitement.
The king's lips twitched into a smirk. His eyelids fluttered open, his red-brown eyes staring sleepily into Zira's. "Good morning Zira," he greeted the cub with a chuckle. Zira's paws slid off him as he lifted his head, shaking out his mane. He split his jaws open in a huge yawn, his long pink tongue unrolling to rest between his fangs. "Are you ready to go?"
Zira nodded, her paws shuffling with excitement. "Of course!" she squeaked.
Nyeusi grinned. "Then let's go." He leaped to his paws, suddenly full of energy, and led the cub to the mouth of the cave.. Zira followed him, forcing herself not to take off running.
Today, she would finally get to see her kingdom.
SCENEBREAK
Nyeusi led Zira past the tall grass surrounding Pride Rock, farther than she'd ever gone before. She glanced back at the rapidly shrinking rock with a grin of excitement.
The two walked for a long time, longer than the little cub was used to, before they reached the first border. It was a wide, grassy area that faded into sparse, short grass and shrubs. Zira couldn't see much of a discernible border. She looked up at her father in confusion. "Where's the border?"
Nyeusi chuckled. "Follow me." He led her to a patch of grass gesturing to it with a paw. "Borders aren't always something you can see. Lions have other, stronger senses to tell them where things are. Your nose is a big one. So take a whiff, and tell me, what do you smell?"
Zira scrunched her brow, a little confused, but did as he said. There were the normal scents of grass and dirt, but where her father was indicating was another, stronger smell. She stuck her nose in close, breathing it in to try and figure it out. "Smells like our den," she decided.
The king seemed amused by her declaration. "It's the scent of our pride," he explained. "We leave it here, at the edge of our territory, so rogues and lions from other prides know not to come any further."
The cub tilted her head curiously. "What's a rogue?" She'd heard her mother and Uncle Ahadi mention them before, but they had never explained what they were.
"Rogues are lions without a pride," her father explained, eyes narrowed. "They live on their own without any rules or laws. They're dangerous at the best of times."
Zira was baffled. "A lion without a pride?" The idea seemed so foreign to her. How could any lion survive on their own, with no one to play with or talk to, and no one to feed them?
The king nodded. "They don't like to listen to a pride's laws, which is why they're not allowed in our territory. They'll hunt food that belongs to our pride and they'll hurt anyone who gets in their way."
"Will we ever see a rogue?" Zira asked curiously. A part of her wanted to meet one of these strange creatures, lions that could live on their own.
Nyeusi shook his head, grinning smugly. "They wouldn't dare cross into our territory," he told his daughter, puffing out his chest. "Not with the mighty King Nyeusi keeping watch." Zira giggled, watching her father's antics with amusement. She was glad to have the strongest king around as her father. No one would dare mess with him!
The king looked down at her with a grin. "Come on, there's a lot more to see." He bounded away, leaving Zira to stumble after him as fast as her short cubby legs could carry her. She'd never walked so much in her life, and her legs were starting to get tired. Nyeusi seemed to notice she was flagging. He slowed to a halt, then lowered himself to the ground, letting Zira clamber onto his mane, settling herself on her usual perch between his ears. She loved sitting there and letting him clamber around Pride Rock with her perched on his mane, which had earned her the nickname "little bird."
Nyeusi carried her all along the border, explaining the different borders and landmarks of the Pride Lands. Zira listened, eyes wide with wonder as she saw the kingdom for the first time. She'd seen glimpses of it from Pride Rock before, but she'd never realized how beautiful it was. Lush green grass, stretched as far as the eye could see, sparkling rivers, a clear blue sky. Zira felt a rush of warmth for her home. She couldn't wait to explore it all on her own one day.
As they made their way through the Pride Lands, Zira began to notice the different herd animals milling about. There were giraffes with their huge necks towering far over her head, zebras with their wild stripes and stone feet, huge elephants with their weird noses and enormous ears. Zira had never seen living prey up close before, but she knew they were as intelligent as lions, so she was surprised when none approached them or spoke to them. Instead, they watched the king and princess pass with wary eyes, skittering off or bunching together in their herds. The cub watched their behavior with a frown. "Why are they acting so weird?" she asked her dad.
The king shrugged, forcing Zira to cling to his mane as his shoulders shifted. "Just being skittish, I guess. They're always like that. I guess that's why lions are kings instead of prey." Suddenly, he turned to look at Zira with a grin. "Watch this." He crouched, the tall grass enveloping and hiding him. He waited a few moments, the quivering of his nose telling Zira he was smelling something. Suddenly, his paw shot out, pulling a wriggling brown form out of the tall grass. He severed it's spine with a quick nip, then dropped it to the ground.
Zira looked at it in surprise. "What is it?"
"A meerkat." He lowered himself to the ground so Zira could slip off and inspect it herself. "Pretty small, but they make a nice snack."
The cub frowned. "But aren't there rules about when it's alright to hunt and when it's not?" she asked worriedly.
Nyeusi just laughed. "Oh, those rules were made by stuffy old kings who thought they knew better than everyone. Prey's there to be caught, isn't it? Besides, eating's been a bit tight for a while, I thought you could do with a snack."
Zira looked worriedly at her father for a moment longer, then shrugged and dug in, using her paws to rip off chunks of meat. Her father was the best and wisest king of all. He must be right.
Here's more of Zira's Fall. This is the last of the updates today, sorry about all that. I tried to show a bit more of Nyeusi's ignorance and arrogance than I did last time. I also chopped the chapter in half, so their little Pride Lands excursion will continue into the next chapter.