Some time had passed since the birth of the three cubs. After the little scare with almost loosing a prince, the pride worried that their bad luck had not left. But things had been fine since the birth of the cubs. Amadi, a name appropriately meaning 'fated to die at birth' , had not had any other health problems since and had grown into a healthy cub.
Walking out of the den, Amadi walked to the peek of pride rock. Even though the rest of the pride slept, Amadi found great pleasure in watching the sunrise. The little cub, though young, saw beauty in everything. He use to try to wake up his siblings, Dumaka and Dalia to join them. But they would rather sleep. He learnt to accept this.
Every now and then, however, he would run into his great grand mother. Sarabi walked out of the den, slowly now as she was growing close to her final days, and approached Amadi.
"Up early again, little prince." She said softly, nuzzling the cubs red toned fur as she lay beside him. She loved all of her great grand children, but she secretly favored Amadi. Though Scar was supposedly not Kovu's father, Amadi resembled Scar. Sarabi saw her old friend Taka in this young cub. She had mad a lot of mistakes with Taka, she blamed a lot of what happened on her. She was determined to make up for it.
"Yes, Nana." Amadi said in a soft gentle tone, his green eyes looking up at Sarabi with happiness before looking back to the horizon. "I just like to watch it. It's pretty."
Everyone in the pride considered Amadi to be slightly different to the other cubs. His visual image was a haunting reminder of Scar, but at the same time he was the gentlest creature to ever walk the land. He couldn't kill small animals for play; he only killed when he was hungry, he tried his best not to break the blades of glass when he walked, and he really wasn't very fond of wrestling. Sarabi considered him to be a very wise cub, but the rest of the pride worried about how the future king could protect the pride if he didn't have an ounce of brutality.
"You know that your parents don't like you wandering around when everyone else is sleeping." She said gently, running her tongue gently over his neck and head.
He rolled onto his stomach, lavishing in the love and attention from his great grand mother. "I'm not wandering. I'm staying on Pride Rock." He said with a giggle. "I'm not going to get in much trouble up here."
She looked down at him, nuzzling against his beige stomach. "I know." She said simply. She never really had to worry about Amadi getting in much trouble. Unlike his brother, Dumaka, who was like Simba in every way and got into trouble constantly, Amadi was cautious. "What do you think your going to do today?"
He twisted back onto his stomach, giggling from being tickled on his stomach, and looked at the sunset again. "Daddy is taking us to the river." He said with a smile. "He said something about knowing the dangers of crocodiles and that the river is the marking of the next land. The lionesses say that the river is a pretty place as well. Why don't you come with us, Nana?"
Sarabi shook her head. "It is too long of a walk for me, Amadi." She said with a faint smile. She didn't leave Pride Rock that much anymore unless it was to the watering hole. She was old, she could no longer hunt. But she didn't mind, her days were finally peaceful. And she always had the cubs around her to make her feel happy.
He nodded. He really didn't understand age that well. He knew that Sarabi was old, but he did not know what that meant. But there had not been a death in the pride since the fall of Zira, so how could he understand it? But at the same time, he understood death. He remembered the first time he and his siblings went playing in the tall grass. Dumaka had found a field mouse and killed it. Dumaka was proud of himself, like most cubs should be. Learning to hunt was a vital skill that needed to be learnt. But all Amadi could feel was sadness for the mouse. He didn't say anything, but he claimed to be tired when Dumaka and Dalia started to play a cub version of soccer with the mouse.
He looked at her and smiled. "Well, that's ok. We can play when I come back." He said, his ears perking up happily as he pounced on Sarabi's back. He loved his Nana; she was his favorite person in the whole pride; apart from his own parents, of course. She was the only one who really understood the eccentric little cub.
She smiled faintly and nodded. "Of course."
It was then that Kovu came out of the den, Dalia and Dumaka following in his wake. "Good morning, Sarabi." He said to her respectfully, and then looked to Amadi. "Ready, sport?"
Amadi hopped off of Sarabi and ran to his father. "See you later, Nana!" He yelled behind him as he followed Kovu off of Pride Rock into the morning glow.
Sarabi did not return the saying. She nodded and smiled, following the cub with her eyes until they were too far to see. She then stood, and walked along the side of Pride rock, to lay in the crevice that Scar use to call 'his favorite place.' Sighing in the memory of the place, she hoped that little Amadi would live a happy life, and be treated far better than anyone had treated Taka. She held comfort that the cub was innocent, that she had done her job to nurture his gentle nature. She didn't have to worry, just rest. She was tired. So very tired.
…
"Are we there yet, Dad?" Dumaka asked, trialing behind Kovu, occasionally kicking at small rocks. Dumaka was a active soul. He enjoyed playing, running, and anything that exerted energy. He was a whirlwind, he didn't stop until he tired himself our or if he got himself in trouble.
Kovu smirked slightly. "Just a few more minutes." He said with a smile. Dumaka was tiresome a lot of the time, but of course Kovu loved him.
Dumaka was born the middle child. His fur was golden, like Simba, but had a little tuff of dark hair that resembled Kovu's. The only thing over than his tuft of main that resembled Kovu was his nose. It was the typical outsider, pointed black nose. But that seemed to be a dominant gene; the only cub in the threesome that had a pride-lander nose was Dalia.
Dalia was the last born, and the little female of the group. She had Kiara's color, a pride lander's nose, but surprisingly resembled Zira. The stripe down her forehead, shape of her face and eyes all resembled Zira. If it weren't for the more rounded figure that Kiara gave her, she would have been a little Zira look alike. But despite her resemblance to Zira, she was kind and fair. She had a bit of a caddy side, but quick scolding from her parents often put that to an end.
"What's so exciting about a river?" Dalia asked curiously to Amadi, whispering so her father wouldn't hear. "I want to go to the gorge again, that was fun."
Amadi gave her a look and shook his head. "The river could be fun too. Lot's of stuff happens at the river, I bet." He said with a positive tone. "There is always lots to do around water."
"Yea I guess." Dalia said, a bit happier about their destination now.
"Alright, you three, we're here." Kovu said, walking through a patch of tall grass to the bank of the river. "Now the first thing to know is safety. If you need to drink some water, ask me so I can watch you. And stay out of the water completely; I don't want the crocodiles to get to you. Explore, but remember, stay out of the water."
The cubs nodded, then ran down the bank of the river, keeping a good few feet from the water. They were weary of the giant lizard that lingered at the water's edge. Kovu found a perch on a fallen tree so he could see them at a distance.
"So what do you guys want to do?" Amadi asked as Dumaka and Dalia ran into a patch of tall grass.
"I don't know." Dalia said, stopping and sitting down in a soft patch of grass.
Dumaka jumped up on a rock and looked down at his siblings. He began to think. This place was pretty cool, he decided. Tons of places to run and hide and play on. "What about hide and seek?" He asked with a smile.
Dalia smirked and hopped up. She nodded, and together Dalia and Dumaka shouted. "NOT IT!"
Amadi scowled. He should have seen this coming. He was always it. "Alright, fine." He said, letting out a sigh. "No going near the water, and you have 10 seconds to hide." He then curled up and covered his eyes with his paws. "1…..2….."
Dumaka wasted no time in darted towards the bank of the river, hoping to find a log or a tree to hide in. Dalia was the huntress of the group, she knew to stalk off silently into the tall grass. Amadi may have been a gentle soul, but he was a good stalker. His observant nature made it easy for him to sneak up and find pray; she knew to be much more quiet than her easily excited older brother, Dumaka.
"9….10. Ready or not, here I come!" he announced, standing up. He looked around, smelling the air with his ears perked. He knew that one of them went bounding off into the direction of the river; it was probably Dumaka… He wasn't too stealthy. He would find him first, because he knew that he would need his brothers help to find his clever sister.
Silently, he began to stalk towards the river, ears and eyes alert as little paws walked onto the softer ground by the river. Kovu, who normally had such a good eye on his cubs, had been interrupted by Zazu who had come to talk to him about something Simba told him. The cubs were not being watched, so Kovu could not see the mischief Dumaka had started.
Dumaka had approached the waters edge, and climbed up into a rather pathetic looking tree. Amadi saw paw-prints as he approached the river. The ground was softer here, so it would have been almost impossible for Dumaka to not leave tracks. Following the prints, Amadi saw that they went right up to a river, where a herd of zebra were drinking. Stopping, he became worried. He had been warned not to approach the river. But he decided that if the zebra were drinking there that it must be safe; maybe the crocodiles were not in this part of the river.
Following the prints, Amadi came to a tree. Looking up he saw Dumaka on a low branch. He grinned and propped his front paws on the tree. "Found you! Your out!" he announced, laughing as he forgot the dangers of the river. "Now come down."
Dumaka, being his usual self, shook his head and laughed. "Have to get me first." He taunted.
"What?!" Amadi asked angrily, his ears flicking back. His brother always did this type of stuff. "That's not how the game goes!"
"It is now." Dumaka said with a laugh, laying on the branch, a good 7 feet from the river below. "And I'm not coming down until you catch me."
Amadi grumbled and extended his claws. "Fine." He mumbled, hopping up onto the tree trunk and climbing up the tree. He struggled a little bit, but then crawled onto the branch. He did not go too far out onto the branch. "C'mon, Du, cut this out! The branch is too thin."
"Nope, you gotta catch me!" He said stubbornly, pretty far out on the branch.
Amadi slowly began to make his way forward, well balanced but nervous. Several Zebra took a break from drinking to watch the cubs curiously. Amadi's bravery slowly grew as he grinned at his brother. He then pounced at his brother. "Gotcha!"
But as he jumped forward, Dumaka jumped up onto the branch above. Amadi gasped, and as his front paws hit the branch he slipped, and the awful sound of cracking came from the branch. In that instant, the river was chaos. The cracking noise had spooked the herd of zebra, and sent them darting into the water. This excited the crocks waiting in the water. Suddenly, many jaws snapped out of the water and attacked the zebra. The cries of injured and drowning zebra filled the air as Amadi clung to life on the thin branch which was slowly bending and cracking lower.
Amadi stared in horror at the scene below; fearful that he would fall into it, and disturbed by the slaughter itself. The feeling grew worse as he watched his brother climb off of the tree. He was leaving him. "Dumaka, wait! Help!" He yelled out, tears coming to his eyes as he tried to scramble back onto the branch. But every time he did the branch broke a bit more. "DADDY!"
Kovu and Zazu's attention had been drawn to the crocodile attack. But neither of them expected to hear the cry from Amadi. Kovu's eyes widened and he jumped into action, sprinting into the scene. He didn't know how he would get past the spooking zebra or the crocodiles, but he would have to try. "Amadi!" he yelled, trying to figure out what to do.
Dalia had come running from the grass, letting out a gasp as she saw her brother hanging feet above the chaos. She glared at Dumaka. "What did you do! We weren't suppose to go near the water!" she scolded, darting towards Amadi. Zazu flew in front of the cubs and shook his head.
"No, children, stay back!" Zazu said, determined to keep the two cubs safe from harm as Kovu ran to Amadi's aid.
The cubs watched in terror as Kovu dodged his way through the herd of zebra. He eventually got to the tree, but it was a small tree, there was no way he would be able to climb it. He took his chances and stepped into the water, going to the other side of the tree. "Hold on, Amadi!" He yelled as he reared up, putting his paws against the trunk. Pushing with all his weight, he began to bend the thin tree back away from the river.
Amadi held his tightest as the tree slowly bent away from the river and over the ground where panicked zebra stumbled their way away from the river and the crocodiles.
Kovu looked over his shoulder, checking for crocks. They were too busy feasting on the zebra. "Amadi, let go of the branch!" He yelled over the chaos, eyes watching his son.
Amadi did as he was told and dropped to the ground, where he landed with a thump, rolling a foot or so right under the feet of the zebra. Kovu let the tree spring back to its normal pose as he leapt from the river, grabbing his son by the scruff, and darted into the grass. Zazu had already lead the other cubs to safer ground. Once they were far enough away from the panic he set the trembling Amadi down.
Panting, Kovu looked to the river, then down at Amadi. "What did I tell you about the river?!" he demanded, his voice trembling from the fear that he could have lost his son a second time.
Amadi flinched, and remained in a trembling ball as Kovu yelled. He was too terrified to speak. Dumata stayed back, knowing full and well that this was his fault, but he said nothing. Eventually, it was Dalia who ran up to Amadi and lay over him.
"Daddy, it wasn't his fault!" Dalia yelled at her father. "We were playing hide and seek, I went into the grass, but Du was the one who climbed the tree. He made Amadi go after him!"
Kovu shot his eyes to Dumaka. "Son, I am very disappointed in you!" he yelled, baring his teeth a little. "Your always so reckless, pushing boundaries and playing pranks. You could have killed your own brother!" Those words rung through his mind, reminding him of what his own mother had said to him when Nuka died. Slowly, his face moved from anger to just disappointment.
Dumaka hung his head low, his tail curled around his body. "I'm sorry daddy…Sorry Amadi." He mumbled, disappointed with himself.
Kovu sighed and looked down to Amadi, lowering his head to his son's level. "Are you alright?" He asked gently; the cub had obviously been quite shaken.
Amadi nodded silently, but didn't speak. He was still terrified. The surprising thing was that the event itself, not nearly dying, was what traumatized him. It was the crocodile attack. Being hunt by a broken branch, watching dozens of zebra just be slaughtered had greatly disturbed him. Maybe if they had not been on the branch, the noise wouldn't have spooked them. Then they wouldn't have run into the water to their deaths. There was just so much blood, and the sound of death took his words away.
Kovu stood back up. "let's go home." He said, taking a few steps. They walked a few steps, then Kovu noticed that there were only two cubs at his side. Looking over his shoulder he saw that Amadi had not moved. Kovu turned around, picked up the upset cub by his scruff, and then walked home.
…
When they arrived back at pride rock, Kiara was waiting. She smiled at Kovu. "Well, did you four have fun?" She asked, but as they grew closer she could tell something was wrong. "What's wrong?"
She looked at Amadi and gasped, the cub was still trembling. "Amadi? What's wrong with him?" She asked as Kovu put the cub down. She moved to her cub and lay down, pulling the cub to her. "Hunny, what's wrong?"
Amadi did not say anything, so Kovu explained what happened, with Dalia's help. Dumaka stayed quiet the whole time, knowing he was in trouble. Kiara was upset now and shook her head.
Leaning down, Kiara nudged Amadi. "Why don't you and Dalia go find your Nana." She said softly, knowing that Sarabi was the best at cheering Amadi up.
Amadi nodded, and walked into the den to find Sarabi. Meanwhile, Kovu and Kiara had some harsh words to deliver to Dumaka. After a while, Dumaka, Kovu and Kiara walked into the den. Simba and Nala were sitting by Sarabi as the old lioness comforted Amadi. Amadi had fallen asleep on Sarabi's arms.
Simba looked at Dumaka with disappointment, then looked at Kiara. "Amadi fell asleep… Poor kid is exhausted." He said softly.
Kiara looked Dumaka. "You can apologize tomorrow." She said to her son. "Now, I think you and Dalia should go get some sleep."
Dumaka nodded, and went with Dalia to their usual sleeping place. Sarabi said it was find for Amadi to sleep with her. Kiara went to join her other cubs, but Simba requested to speak with Kovu.
Outside on Pride Rock, Simba expressed concern about Amadi. Yes, it was Dumaka who taunted Amadi onto the tree. But Amadi went regardless. He gave into the pressure of his brother, he was too eager to please, to be accepted; a trait that was not fit for a king. Kovu defended his son, but this want to be accepted was just one thing in a long list that troubled the pride about Amadi becoming king. The fact that the cub nearly died at birth expressed weakness. And the cubs gentle soul, though admirable, was not strong enough to rule or fight if need be. No one believed that the pussy-cat of a cub would be able to hold his own in a fight.
"So what can I do about it? I am teaching him the best that I can." Kovu said sadly, looking into Simba's eyes.
"Well… When you are king you can pick who will become your heir." Simba suggested. "Dumaka is reckless and impulsive right now, I was the same way, but I see him being more fit to be king than little Amadi."
Kovu was shocked, he really didn't know what to say to that. "But the first born is meant to be king."
"Not in all cases, they were all born at the same time, so their birth is considered one. My grand father had to pick between my father and Scar." He said softly. "Usually prides stick to the first born scenario. But sometimes, for the better of the pride, a younger male is picked. I mean, you were not first born, and Zira picked you to be king."
"Yes, but that's because Nuka was an idiot." Kovu said with a sigh, still feeling pain for the loss of his brother; more so than the loss of his mother. "I don't know. I just don't feel that it is right to take that away from Amadi."
"Well, give it some time. I will help you train Amadi." He said with a smile. He didn't want to upset Kovu, just give a suggestion. "We'll turn him into a lion yet."
Kovu smiled. "Thank you, Simba."
Simba nodded. "But you must keep it in mind. Do what is best for the pride, not for your heart." And with that, he went into the den.
Kovu watched him leave, and then looked up at the sky. His heart told him that, despite Amadi's soft side, that the cub would make a fine king. Kovu was a gentle cub before Zira corrupted him. But his mind gave him doubts. Putting those doubts away, he returned to the den to rest. He was sure everything would be ok.
