Okay, review response time!
5 and kate: K thanks.
Starzinmieyez: Thanks. Nice seeing you again btw.
TLK Nerd: Well we'll just have to find out in the future, don't we? ;)
Jade: Same here. Thanks for your review!
Read and enjoy!
~12~
"You three really disappointed me." Kovu said sternly to his three cubs. "You guys are okay now, but do you realize how worse the outcome would've been if Doli were just a second too late?"
"But Dad, I would've never known about the caves if Isa didn't open her big beak!" Diallo whined.
"This isn't about Isa!" the king retorted impatiently. "You're the oldest of your generation. Soon you'll be king and you'll have to learn how to resist temptations and protect your subjects from peril."
"But I protected them from Nassor and Sura—didn't I?"
"Speaking of Nassor and Sura, you'll never talk to those two ever again."
"But Dad! They're nice guys...why can't I—"
"Diallo trust me, you're too young to understand..."
"So I'm old enough to protect Iman, Ashanti and stupid Isa from danger but I'm not old enough to make my own friends without you going all berserk?"
"They're liars and cheats—."
"Says the one who's keeping a bunch of secrets from his own kids."
"Diallo, you should stop..." Iman said in a hushed voice.
"Yeah, we're in enough trouble already." Ashanti added silently.
"No!" the oldest prince retorted. "The only liar and cheat here is you Dad!"
It took a minute to realize what he just said. He flinched as his father let out a loud roar.
"D-dad, I didn't mean that, I—"
"Go back to Pride Rock, all three of you. Don't talk to Nassor, Sura or anyone for that matter. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, Sir." the cubs droned sadly as they turned about face towards the den.
Once they were out of the picture, he hung his head beneath his shoulder wearily.
"I must be the worst father in all of Africa."
"Now you know that's not true," said a soft feminine voice.
A golden lioness appeared before him, causing him to give a meager smile.
"How much did you hear?" Kovu asked his mate.
"I heard enough," Kiara said with a grin.
Kovu's gaze drifted to the ground as he heard his wife speak. She crawled underneath him, nuzzling him affectionately.
"You're new to this sort of thing—we both are." she said with an assuring smile. "Don't beat yourself up over it."
"I can't help but feel bad about it..."
"About what?"
"It. When Diallo finds out he isn't guaranteed to be king, he'll be so disappointed."
"It may seem bad now, but give it some time." Kiara insisted, despite her uncertainty. "He'll be more mature about it."
Kovu felt a growing lump in his throat.
"Let's take a walk," his mate suggested. "It'll calm you down."
Kovu took her advice and the two strolled away in unison. They didn't notice two creatures snickering in the bushes near them. Once they were a good distance away, they crept out.
"Well, looks like the brute backstabs his own children too, Sura." one said harshly. "Pathetic—PA-THE-TIC Kovu!"
"What a shame, Nassor." Sura replied. "The poor kid doesn't deserve it."
"Don't soften up over that brat. Our main concern right now is getting him on our side."
"Whaddoya mean?"
"The closer we get to Diallo, the closer we'll get to Pride Rock." Nassor responded with an evil chuckle. "He'll vouch for us and we'll finally leave this popsicle stand and we'll be filthy stinkin' rich. Imagine Sura, all the antelope you can eat, all the lands you can roam. And best of all, we won't have to bother with that two-timing king."
"I can see it already," Sura said with a fiery passion. "My mouth's already watering just thinking about it."
"Yep, this is it, brother!"
With that, the two leapt from their hiding place and headed home before anyone could notice their presence.
"Way to go." Iman snapped bitterly. "Thanks to your big mouth, we're stuck inside for the whole day."
"Shut up," Diallo scoffed.
"Yeah…making friends with those stupid leopards who tried to eat us. Way to go, Future King!" Ashanti added spitefully.
"They were just kidding, you big baby."
"Well it's wasn't funny! No wonder they were all alone in that big cave."
"You wouldn't understand." Diallo insisted, squirming his body opposite to those of the other cubs.
"Well, if you like your new friends so much, why don't you go with them?" Iman suggested sarcastically, causing the other cubs to laugh.
The brown furred prince leapt from his spot, snarling at his younger brother. Iman backed away, narrowing his eyes in victory.
"Fine!" Diallo roared. "Maybe I will! They're a lot more fun than you guys anyway."
Iman turned away in annoyance while Ashanti lay across from him.
When they weren't looking, he snuck off, heading to the caves to his real friends. Surely, they'd enjoy his company!
Meanwhile, a familiar little blue hornbill wasn't exempt from punishment.
"Come on, Daddy." she pled. "I can't take the suspense! Just tell me what's going on?"
"You can wait a few minutes, can't you?" Zazu responded nonchalantly.
"Do you really want to do this?"
"I'm sorry, Isa, but you must learn."
"But I thought I was your little princess…" she said, trying to give one of her infamous cutesy looks.
"Nice try, but that isn't going to cut it." Zazu scolded.
He looked off and saw two familiar birds flying towards him.
"Aah look, here they come now."
Isa peered behind her father curiously. From what she could see, two cranes swooped down in front of them. One scooped Isa up into her wings and held her close like a newborn.
"Oooo, look at our little baby girl, Oni." Pili cooed with excitement, as if Isa was a child of her own.
"Look at those eyes." Oni squealed in awe. "Don't you just wanna eat her up whole?"
"Don't you think I'm a little past this stage?" Isa scoffed as she tried to wriggle out of the crane's grip.
"Nonsense!" Pili insisted. "You'll always be our little hatchling no matter how big you get."
Oy…
"Come on, Dad." Isa begged. "Did I really do anything to deserve this? Come on, it was just a minor slip of the beak hehe…"
"That could've gotten you killed." Zazu added sternly. "Now don't give Pili and Oni too much trouble."
He took off, ready to tend to other things. Pili and Oni took the blue chick to their tree.
"Don't look so down, sweetie." Oni said, bringing her chin up. "You'll have a blast!"
Hours passed and Isa sighed dolefully as Pili and Oni continued to ramble on about that 'Cute ostrich that lived just past the waterhole.' and that 'One eagle with the huge wingspan that lives in the Kilimanjaro. You know what they say about birds with big wingspans ya' know? Haha!'
"God, this is unbearable." Isa moaned to herself. "And it's barely noon!"
She looked down at the rest of the animals at the waterhole, living their normal lives. When she looked closer, she could see her friends conversing and playing around. Audi was there with yet another boy-toy, a slightly older, golden plumaged hornbill.
"There's no way out…" Isa groaned as she slumped against the nest's rim.
Then, her purple eyes lingered onto a crane that was searching for his lunch in the large pond. Suddenly, a light bulb went off in her head.
"Hey, Aunt Pili," Isa said innocently. "I don't mean to bother you, but I think that cute crane in the waterhole was checking you out a few minutes ago."
Pili's cheeks turned beet red as she chuckled bashfully.
"I think he was looking at you too, Oni." Isa added with a sly look. "I think you better talk to him. He's—."
Before she could even finish, Pili and Oni were out of there. Isa chuckled to herself as she slipped out of the nest and to her friends. She crept slowly and secretively, making sure her babysitters hadn't caught sight of her yet or realized she was gone. Eventually, she let her guard down and rushed to her friends.
"Isa, you made it!" Audi said giddily. "I thought your parents grounded you!"
"Pssh, they did." Isa scoffed. "I managed to escape the babysitters. I might as well hang out with you guys till they find out I'm gone."
The rest of the hornbill chicks started to come out. There were three of them, excluding Isa and Audi. Hasin, the hornbill Audi hung out with before, was the second oldest of the group. He had a striking golden plumaged coat, which distinguished him from the other hornbills. He was handsome, but arrogant and thought the world seemed to revolve around him. Moyo was another male in the group. He had pistachio colored feathers and deep brown eyes. He was a clown and often tagged along Hasin. Lastly was Ema, Hasin's older twin sister, as well as the oldest in the clique, who had a vibrant purple feathers and almost identical colored eyes. She was headstrong and a bit outspoken. She was talkative like her brother, but less conceited.
"Who's your friend?" Hasin asked, cocking an eyebrow.
"Umm, this is my friend," Audi said gleefully. "I knew her for a really long time."
"She looks a bit familiar." the golden hornbill remarked. "But I can't put my beak on it."
Isa kicked the ground sheepishly as she tried to avoid eye contact.
"Oh right! It's you, Small Fry." Hasin said in that smug tone of his. "Dontcha remember me?"
"No…"
Suddenly, it hit her. He was the one she got into that brawl with at the fields.
"Oh, I-uh-uh didn't mean anything from that. I was just a young bird, I—."
"Relax, Small Fry." Hasin laughed. "It's all in the past. So what's your name?"
"Well, my full name is Isabis, but most call me Isa." Isa said, a little more comfortable around the other hornbills.
"Wait a second, aren't you the majordodo's kid?"
"He's a majordomo," Isa corrected. "And why does it matter?"
"You should get back to wear you belong, Ms. Goody-Two-Shoes, or Daddy'll get mad at ya'."
He laughed in her face and Isa grew red out of anger and humiliation.
"I'm not a goody-two-shoe!" she retorted. "In fact, I ran off without him knowing and I don't care what he thinks!"
"Ha! Why don't you tell it to his face, Small Fry?"
"What makes you think I won't?"
"Well, he's right there." Hasin said smugly. "There's your chance…"
Isa swiftly turned around. It was her father perched above a tree with Zula. They hadn't caught sight of her—yet.
"Eeek! I gotta go, Audi." she said quickly before making her getaway in a thicket of messy bushes. "I'll catch ya' later!"
Hasin looked at her escape, laughing arrogantly.
"I told ya she was too much of a goody-two-shoes." he cackled.
Isa rolled her eyes. It'll take some time to get used to Hasin. After wandering blindly in the dimly lit insides, she finally caught sight of a small ray of light that filtered its way into the dark bushes. She eagerly crawled out and saw that she was finally away from all the commotion.
"What a relief," she said with a sigh.
She was about to fly off, when she was halted. She looked up impatiently to see that a hawk caught sight of her. His eyes stared her down and his beak watered hungrily.
"Well," he teased. "Don't you look just like your Daddy?"
His beak curled into a menacing smile as he gripped the hornbill chick in his talons and curled them tightly around her little body.
"Who the devil are you?" Isa scoffed. "Let me go you nitwit!"
"No can do," the hawk said. "I wonder if you taste like a mix of your parents too."
Isa gasped. In an effort to escape, she pecked the hawk in his eye and flew off. He roared in pain, his eyes shut tight. Isa escaped quickly. Once he recollected himself, the hawk bolted after her. Isa turned back, her eyes fastened on the razor sharp talons that were headed her way. She flew even faster into the nearby marsh. They were dark and littered with shrubs and trees. Luckily, the abundance of these things made it a tad bit harder for the hawk to catch up to Isa. Frustrated, he broke through the vines and twigs that entangled him and swiftly caught up to his prey.
"Your mine." he spat as he tried to take a bite into the hornbill.
At her last whim, Isa frantically looked for a way to get of him once and for all. She spotted a thorny bush in the corner of her eye. She quickly headed in and stupidly, the hawk followed.
"Say your prayers!" he hissed.
Once he realized it was a thorn bush, it was too late for him to slow down and he barreled into it. Isa was safely hidden and the hawk gave up the hunt and flew off in pain.
"That'll teach him." she snided. "Stupid hawk."
Meanwhile at the caverns, Diallo was telling his new friends about what happened that morning. Nassor and Sura feigned interest in the cub's conversation, adding occasional "No ways," and "He dids?" every time he was finished a sentence.
"Well it doesn't matter anyway because once I'm all grown up, I'll be king!" Diallo beamed proudly.
Nassor and Sura exchanged looks.
"Umm…yeah! Sure you will." Nassor said with enthusiasm.
"But Nassor! I thought Kovu said he wasn't gonna—OW!"
"Shut up, fool!"
Diallo was oblivious to the cheetah's conversation and continued to ramble on.
"Eehh…um, Diallo, don't you think it's getting late?" Nassor asked. "Your parents will grow worried and then they'll get suspicious. And you don't want us to stop being friends, do you?"
"Oh no! Of course not!" Diallo insisted. "You guys are really good friends, unlike stupid Iman and Ashanti."
"Well don't fret, kid. Cause once your king, they'll grovel at your feet."
"Ha! I guess so. Well…see you later guys."
Diallo departed the cave and ran for home before anyone got suspicious. When he snuck in, it was still the afternoon and the cubs were the only ones in the cave.
"Where were you?" Ashanti said. "We got worried."
"Did you tell Dad I left?" Diallo asked, unfazed by Ashanti's concern.
"No, he's not home yet," responded Iman.
"Then don't worry about it!" scoffed the brown cub as he plopped himself onto the den's floor.
Ashanti and Iman exchanged looks, concerned about Diallo's sudden change.
"I can't believe this! I didn't know what I was thinking leaving Isabis in the care of you boy-crazy geezers!" scolded Zazu.
"She's just a teeny tiny bird!" Pili snapped. "How far could she go?"
"Great Kings, what's gotten into me? I really left my daughter in the care of you nitwits."
"She's fine I bet." Oni squawked. "You're just huffing and puffing for no reason."
"No reason? She's my only daughter! And I swear if she has just one scratch on her—and if Zula finds out, heavens knows what she'll do…she'll—gah what am I doing? My little princess is out there!"
With that, he took off and frantically searched for his daughter. Hours passed and his search got him nowhere. Meanwhile, in the same bush where Isa collapsed, she woke up.
"I must've worn myself out back there," she yawned. "It—oh my…"
She took notice of the darkening skies. She'd been asleep for the whole afternoon and now nighttime was beginning to fall. She wasn't accustomed to this darkness and went in circles search for the way out of the swampy lands. She heard rustling nearby and quiet murmurs.
"Who's there?" she inquired sharply, despite her fear. "I'm warning you, hawk. I'll hurt you again!"
Suddenly silence. Then more rustles. Her heart began to race at an unsteady pace as the sounds intensified. Suddenly a figure appeared in front of her.
"You're not very smart, are you?"
Cliff-hanger time. This chapter would've been longer but it might've been a pain to read all of it. With that, chapter 12 will be out sooner. On account of I already know what's gonna happen and the fact that this chapter's kinda slow and more about the cubs and Isa than the actual canon characters.
Peace out.