A/N:
Update time—AND in the same 2 week period! As anticipated from the last chapter, the action begins… now-
Asuma closed his eyes and focused hard on just breathing. His whole body was shaking, causing the tawny grass around him to shudder slightly.
Before they had separated, Tanga had decided what general section of the large herd they would strike. Now she was off somewhere in the grass, and he would wait for her signal. The target would be chosen when she grew close enough to properly observe. She was a natural hunter after all, not him. It was her environment, and she was in control.
She would strike first and, practically like a blind cub, he'd follow her lead. He admitted to himself grudgingly that he was relying heavily on her for her guidance and skill, but there was no other choice if the plan were to succeed. With regret, he then wished he had spent more time building hunting skills that he, too, could be proud of. The more Asuma thought on it, he wasn't sure what he would do if they failed because of her.
"If that means that he's paid for his crimes... I don't think I'll mind it too much."
A chill ran through his body.
No, I have to keep calm. We complete the distraction and get to the river. Then we'll have him. It's finally happening... isn't that enough?
He narrowed his eyes.
So don't screw this up... you won't forgive yourself if you're the screw up...
They had left Pride Rock thirteen days before, he thought. More sunrises than he was comfortable with had passed him by, and with it the opportunities the dark shroud each of those nights had brought with it. Instead, his nightmares had come to taunt him.
He wondered if he'd ever be free of his nightmares.
"But... but there's gotta be justice... He's a murderer... isn't he? Murder is the worst..."
He swallowed hard.
What would he think of me? What I was doing for him, because he was murdered in cold blood by that monster? Would he... would he wish for me to do all this because of what happened to him? Because Father hurt me, too?
For a brief moment of clarity, Asuma wondered how the killing had exactly played out... He curled his lip when he imagined Kovu tearing into his helpless grandfather with practiced ease as he cried out in pain and surprise. He'd never seen Zira, his grandmother, but he imaged a creature that vaguely looked like his aunt Vitani standing back and watching with a glimmer of malice and triumph in her eyes as she finally got what she'd wanted all along. He could see the blood as it tainted the ground, and maybe a tree or bush or two, but he imagined it had happened very quickly and swiftly. He didn't remember his father having very many scratches on his body at the time, and compared to what Chaka had given him, he doubted that Simba would have otherwise gone down without a fight. Kovu was younger, but Simba had also been bigger.
Why had Kovu needed Zira to ambush Simba? Why had he hated Simba enough to kill him? Was power really so important that he couldn't wait? Had he resented his family for getting in the way of his ultimate mission? Why had Zira come back in the first place, and was her influence over her soulless boy really that great... and what had his cubhood been like?
Why hadn't he asked Natin to give him every scrap of detail he might have learned from his mother? Why hadn't Natin told him in the first place?
After all that's happened... do I really care to know all the answers?
Asuma's sight had blurred and he vigorously shook his head to regain his focus. However, there was no ridding the feeling of numbness that had settled over him. To distract himself, he arched his neck to look over the grass line. He squinted his eyes and waited for Tanga to lift her tail above the grass and wave the signal.
When she finally gave the signal, accompanied by a small chirping sound, his heart stuttered in his chest.
Steeling himself with a deep breath, he started to creep towards the herd. They were downwind from the herd, though the breeze was minimal. The gathering of animals was mostly made up of cape buffalo and zebra, though when he flared his nostrils he caught the musk of thin-legged gazelle and wildebeest. Creeping forward, he stretched his body and neck so that it was parallel with the ground. He remembered to keep his whole body low, almost feeling Tanga's paws on his hips when she'd forced his bottom and tail down roughly two weeks before. Upon hearting Tanga give another vocal signal, he paused for another moment. When she chirped again, he lowered himself into the dusty-scented grass and started forward on his belly. The advance was slow, and he turned his paws over so his steps were muffled by his fur. Several times he had to take a breath and swallow in order to calm himself.
We can isolate him.
The sound of so many huffing and chewing creatures was like a symphony. The night air around him was cooling down, but the closer he got to the herd he thought he could almost feel the radiating heat from so many animals. For another moment, Asuma closed his eyes, enjoying the calm and anticipating the surge of activity that was about to erupt on the savannah.
Tonight there will finally be justice. By dawn I'll see this done. They'll see.
Tanga gave a final chirp and his eyes flashed open at the sound of rustling grass nearby. Instinct took over and Asuma rose up from the grass. It took a moment, but his eyes locked on Tanga. He then looked forward and tried to find where she was going to strike. As the herd animals quickly identified the danger of the attack, they began to stumble into each other in an effort to escape, tossing up clumps of grass and dirt. With the dark and the haze, Asuma tossed aside the half-hearted attempt to predict Tanga's plan, and instead focused his energy on running after her, determined to not fall behind. He strode to her side, but gave her plenty of room to maneuver.
"It's a wildebeest!" Tanga cried when she realized he was near her. "Got it?"
"Got it! Keep leading!" he shouted back. "We get out as fast as possible!"
There was a ghost of a nod. Tanga surged ahead, leading them along the edge of the deafening herd. A few steps to the right, Asuma thought, and the herd would grab them by its teeth and swallow them whole. He stayed several lengths behind Tanga, sucking the hot, fear-filled air deep into his lungs. His tender paws pounded the ground, and he could feel the sores on his paws splitting open again.
He grinned.
It put his self-control to the test in order to keep himself from whooping in excitement.
With a roar, Tanga moved like a flash and launched herself onto the thick neck of a wildebeest. Her motions were swift and smooth, her tail whipping behind her for balance.
To Asuma, for several moments, everything seemed to move in slow motion. The collective thunder of hooves dissolved into the steady beat of a drum, and he could feel the power in each and every tendon and straining muscle in his body when he too leaped and slammed his front paws into the haunch of the wildebeest. On impact, his claws slipped a few inches. For a moment, he panicked. Scrabbling for something to hold onto, his teeth grabbed onto the precipice its back. The wildebeest tensed. From the effort, Asuma's neck immediately began to feel the strain. His momentum allowed him to swing his hind paws up towards the wildebeest's unprotected belly.
It bucked and hollered, but together they clung to its body. The rest of the herd rolled past them in a dusty, anonymous blur.
His eyes burning, Asuma thankfully felt the wildebeest tiring beneath his claws. It was slowly, in shuddering motions, sinking to the ground. Its sides heaved furiously as it fought for air through a crushed windpipe, and when it finally fell to the ground, its spindly but powerful legs flailed uselessly, given no purchase under Tanga's death grip.
Then it felt like ages while its life gradually oozed out of its fighting body into the scrubby ground. An unwelcome chill ran through Asuma's body when he noted the exact moment the wildebeest became just another hunk of meat.
Panting, with her lips and teeth bloodied, Tanga took a shaky step away from the wildebeest. Her green eyes were practically black with adrenaline. She nodded. "He's down."
Asuma nodded as well, trying to breathe. He glanced around for a moment, taking note of the direction they'd ultimately head in. He then noticed something. "The herd... they're running towards the river. Right?"
"I think so. Do we follow them?"
He nodded, clearing his throat. "Yes." His limbs felt rubbery when he lifted a paw and took a step. "Chase them. C'mon!"
This time, he led the way. Tanga ran next to him. The bulk of the herd was already a quarter of a mile ahead of them, but a few stragglers made sure to stay out of the way of predators. If they could make it look like they were hunting more prey, it would serve to distract and excite Sauda and the lionesses more. Asuma hoped the herd would effectively disguise their trail and make it harder to pick out from the wild scent of hoofed creatures.
"I...I... hope... Sauda... let's them... go!" Tanga huffed.
"Don't worry... about... them! Just run!" he shouted back, though he shared the same fear. In general, he also was anxious about being separated from Natin and Kovu for too long. The night was dark and the area was large. No matter what, they'd have to wait for them to arrive at the river. He just prayed the difficulties of meeting up again would be minimal. Phase one had gone off without problem already.
I'd say we've been lucky... but luck never seems to be on my side.
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"We'll find him and bring him to his senses. Then we'll bring Chaka to his senses."
"What if we never find Uncle Kovu, Mother? Aren't we gonna go back home?"
"Not until they're safe, Natin, we can't. I'm sorry. I have to make sure. He's a danger to himself and everyone around him."
"...Well... we're in this together... right?"
"Yeah, we are, my son."
They had found a very small rise; it was just big enough to give them an idea of what was going on in the night. Natin suppressed a shiver of anticipation as he sat beside the lion who had caused his mother to die. Flanking Kovu's other side was Sauda, the lioness who had tasted his mother's blood on her tongue.
"I've heard so many good things about your daughter, Kovu," Sauda spoke up. "But is your son as good a hunter as his father?"
Natin briefly glanced out of the corner of his eye and waited for his uncle's response when he hesitated.
"He won't disappoint me," Kovu finally replied. "Neither of them will."
By now, Tanga and Asuma had melted in with the tall grass. He could only guess at where they were, and the herd was unsuspecting so far. Natin's adrenaline rose as he tried to avoid becoming impatient. He recalled the calm, focused expressions on both of his cousins' faces when they'd departed. Natin had nodded to them, preparing for what would be one of the longest nights in his young life.
And whatever you do, Tanga, don't get in Asuma's way.
After a while, Natin realized he was trying his hardest to keep his eyes straight ahead, trying to shut out the sight of Kovu in his side vision.
"You know..."
Natin's ears perked at Kovu's voice.
"Having them here has given me a new confidence."
Natin noticed that Sauda had left. When he spotted her over his shoulder, she was working with her lionesses, calling their attention and organizing them.
You guys better move faster...
Kovu continued. "While I waited for you to return... I wondered what was the point anymore. We weren't moving forward. I was too close to finally giving up."
Natin raised the eyebrow that Kovu couldn't see.
Anything is worth the risk if the alternative is murder...
"Your kids share your feelings for the Pridelanders," Natin remarked, pushing Tanga's words from his mind. No, now is not the time... this is our only option. "They're not gonna shed a tear for Chaka, and the Pride Lands will be ours again. You'll have your kingdom back, Kovu."
Kovu let out a heavy breath.
Briefly Natin again glanced at his uncle, and to his horror he realized just how haggard he'd grown. Shadows pooled around his tired, green eyes. Shadows also settled in the various scars on his face and around the corners of his mouth. Natin had, in fact, been under Kovu's care for well over a year, learning from him and waiting to strike, but he'd never bothered to study him, or much less look him full in the face.
Sadly, he remembered then that he'd never known his own father, nor did he wish to know him, and his mother had chosen to tell him very little about the insignificant rogue who had given him life...
Kovu's the closest thing I've ever had to a father... maybe... maybe that's why I can't kill him...
"Kovu." Sauda's voice shattered Natin's thoughts. "I'll give them the signal when your children initiate the hunt."
Almost the moment after Sauda had mentioned the word 'hunt', an explosion of sound rent the air. The lionesses heard it, too, and they began to yowl and growl impatiently. The herd was on the move.
First grinning at her lionesses over her shoulder, Sauda turned to Kovu. Her eyes were wide and eager.
Kovu gave the nod.
The lionesses took off, snarling and bumping into each other. Natin watched and rolled his eyes when one tripped over her paws and tumbled gracelessly to the ground before picking herself up and taking off at a dead run after her pridesisters.
Natin blinked and inwardly cursed.
Sauda!
"This is a night to celebrate, Sauda," Kovu spoke up. If he were nervous, he hid his unease perfectly, and Natin envied him for it. "Join them. Natin and I will follow."
Sauda snorted a laugh. "What?" she roughly scoffed. "You can't tell me what to do all the time. You get to rest and sit and watch."
Natin swallowed and almost choked on his saliva. Just then, he heard a roar, announcing that an animal had been attacked. He thought the roar was Tanga's.
"Your point?" Kovu asked, his tone slightly more brusque this time.
"I think I'll let them do all the work tonight. I'm too tired. I'm going to rest."
Natin couldn't clearly see what was going on below, but he knew exactly how long it took to bring down an animal. Precious time was slipping by, and a feeling of cold dread washed over him from his head to his toes, leaving him feeling light and shaky.
Next to him, Kovu stood up.
Sauda didn't appear to notice, her attention locked on the hunt. She muttered something in excitement, her ears flicking like crazy. There was a smile on her muzzle.
Natin's eyes widened. He felt his jaw drop.
It was a move that Kovu had taught him months before. With a paw, Kovu reached around from behind Sauda to grab her by the muzzle and shove her to the ground with all his weight. He landed on her back, both his front paw smashing her jaws into the ground. The move immobilized her completely. Natin watched in horror while Kovu then brutally held her head down parallel to the ground with one paw, while he swiftly and deeply raked his fully-unsheathed claws down the side of her face and neck.
The lioness, wide-eyed, snarled and yelped muffledly while she weakly tried to surge up from the ground. One of her hind lengs wasn't pinned beneath her, but it was stretched out at an awkward angle. There was no time for her to call for help. Soon, the grass by her neck darkened and she slowly grew still and silent.
Natin watched the light go out of her frightened eyes when Kovu pulled his paws away. Her face had frozen into a mute roar.
"Let's go. We need to make up lost time," Kovu told him. He stepped off of Sauda's limp back. Pantingly lightly, he cleaned his paws along the dead lioness's pelt.
Dumbfounded, Natin unconsciously took a step away from the death scene.
"Stop staring," Kovu grumbled as he turned away from Natin.
Natin blinked and remembered to take a breath. When Kovu finally tore off without another word, Natin followed.
"They'll know," Natin said once he regained his ability to speak.
"Do you think I care?" Kovu snapped, flashing a glare at him. "Natin, all I care about are my children. She would've stopped me from being with them. Stopped us."
Though Kovu's words made sense about the murderous, vile lioness, Natin remained uneasy about what he'd seen. Kovu had done what was needed to escape; Natin knew neither of them would lose sleep over Sauda's death- she who had laughed at his mother when she'd asked if she knew Kovu- but seeing his mother's lonely corpse paled in comparison.
Is murder a burden I'm willing to carry?
Natin was having trouble keeping up with Kovu while they made their full-out dash to the river where they hopefully would meet Tanga and Asuma. He kept his eyes on his uncle's back. He then shook his head.
If what I just saw taught me anything... then... well...
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A large figure moved into their path at the mouth of the den. There was a low growl and a booming voice. "It wasn't very responsible of you to disappear all day. If something had happened to-"
His tone immediately set her on edge. "Well nothing did, did it?" Kiara snapped back, eyeing her brother in irritation as he barred the entrance. "Now how about you ask me nicely where I was, and I can tell you, Chaka. You're not my keeper."
Hours had passed since sundown and the moon was ascending into the sky. Drained and fuzzy-minded, Kiara desired nothing less than to argue with her brother in front of the whole pride. Behind Chaka she could see them slowly coming around, rousted by Chaka's lack of control of the volume of his voice.
"Where were you?" Chaka demanded bluntly and flatly. She knew he was at the mercy of his barely-contained emotions.
"I went to Tojo's pride to talk with him."
The big lion narrowed his eyes. "To talk? Hope it wasn't a waste of our time."
Kiara closed her eyes in irritation. Everything that erupted from his mouth made her pelt crawl.
Why is he so difficult?
"Well, Kiara?"
She said quietly, "It's disrespectful the way you scold me in front of my subjects."
When she opened her eyes, Chaka was rolling his. He opened his mouth, but when he felt the presence of several lionesses approaching from behind him, he turned and stared.
"Chaka," one began, "let her speak. We're done listening to you."
"Yeah, exactly," piped another as her other pridesisters nodded in agreement.
Chaka growled nervously. "You'll listen to her?"
"Of course," replied a light-furred lioness. "She doesn't sit and watch us run those laps or fight each other. She's right next to us. The least we can do is lend our ears to her."
Amid the exclamations of agreement, one lioness asked, "Kiara? Suki? Why did you go to Tojo?"
"I needed answers," Kiara replied as the lionesses managed to press Chaka away from the entrance. They allowed her and Suki to enter the den, and they surrounded her in the middle of the den's floor. At the gesture, Kiara felt a surge of confidence. "I knew my pride needed answers."
"Answers for what?" a lioness asked.
"How to lead my pride better," Kiara said, a small smile quirking a corner of her mouth.
"Did Tojo help at all? Is he going to help now?"
Kiara tried to stop herself from faltering, but was unsuccessful. "I still don't know the answers- I'll need to look elsewhere," she told them, "but Tojo may be on our side yet."
Chaka's mane suddenly brushed her shoulder. "Really? He's coming, right? You got his word?"
Kiara looked up at her brother and nervously put a paw on his chest to gently nudge him further away. She was grateful when he didn't ignore her gesture. "He promised he'd think about it. At sunrise his messenger is supposed to bring us his answer."
Chaka made a disgruntled sound. "That's it? We wait? We're always waiting."
Kiara nodded curtly, forcing a patronizing smile. "You're welcome," she replied mockingly. "Now... I'm very tired, and if you'd be so kind, brother, I'd like nothing more than to-"
Chaka snarled, the fur on his chest fluffing. "If you think you're gonna go around me now, you're wrong."
Startled, Kiara blinked. "What? I don't under-"
There was a collective gasp when Kiara narrowly ducked a blow from Chaka that was aimed for her head, causing her to stumble back and fall onto her hip. She grunted. The diameter of the ring surrounding the siblings widened for half a second before Suki and several other lionesses converged to bar Chaka from their queen.
Kiara was up quickly, several muzzles nudging her helpfully to her paws. They asked if she was alright and she assure them she was unhurt. She then took several steps forward so he had a clear view of her. "Chaka, maybe it's best if you slept outside tonight."
Chaka blinked, his eyes wide as they flashed from one angry face to another. His mouth fell open slightly, but nothing more than a strangled squeak was able to escape.
Sensing his hesitation, one of the lionesses gave a throaty growl.
Kiara met Chaka's eyes, which to her surprise were draining of disapproving resentment and instead filling with a mixture of shame and hurt. She, too, felt a little ashamed at how she had let her exhaustion and frustration speak for her. "Please, go, Chaka," she urged him quietly. "We can talk later when you're calmer." She then recalled the last time she had asked someone to take a breather. "And please don't go far, alright? We can greet Tojo's messenger together at sunrise."
Seemingly in a daze, Chaka wordlessly turned and headed towards the entrance, his head and ears down. For a heartbeat he paused, but instead he decided to continue without so much as turning back to look at them. When two lionesses went to the mouth of the den to check, they reported he'd quickly gone from their sight.
"He's dangerous," one of the older lionesses remarked. More quietly she muttered, "...Scar had a temper on him, too."
Kiara closed her eyes, and sighed. Turning to the lioness, she chided her softly, "And saying things like that serves no purpose. Remember... he wasn't raised here."
The elder looked like she had a retort resting on the tip of her tongue, but when one of their pridesisters brushed a paw over her paw, she stayed silent.
"Kiara? Where's Isabis and Neo?" yet another lioness asked. She and the other lionesses started to look around- as if Isabis's presence alone would've been able to go undetected.
Another added, "Yeah, what happened to them? Suki?"
"They'll remain with Tojo's pride until all of this has blown over," Kiara spoke for Suki, glancing at her worried-faced companion. "That's one of the reasons I went to see his pride."
Many of the lionesses looked at each other. After all that had happened, Kiara couldn't say either way that she was surprised or not when the lionesses began to grumble.
"My health isn't as valuable as theirs?" one of the oldest lionesses wheezed.
Kiara lowered her ears. "But I just thought... and I promised Su-"
"I can't say they're old enough to fight and should, but I am too old to fight."
Kiara opened her mouth again to further defend herself, but she quickly realized she was struck mute. She started to panic.
While the lionesses continued to voice their various concerns, Suki lowered her head and murmured, "I should have kept them with me..."
Kiara's eyes snapped around the cave from one face to the other. Only she was silent; every other rapidly moving mouth in the cave had more than plenty to say. She understood why they were lashing out at her, but that understanding was very little comfort.
"Suki's always been your favorite, Kiara! Hasn't she?"
"The worst part is she tricked us into thinking she cared about us, too!"
"We need a real leader! If your mother only knew!"
"This isn't right what you're doing to us!"
"Say something!"
"We can't trust either of you, can we?"
Every piece of hurtful criticism they hurled her way was next to useless, and damaged her more than Chaka's blow would have. Now she was in full dismay. She desperately tried listening to her own thoughts, but she couldn't hear them over the din of the senseless lionesses. It was as if her thoughts had scampered into the recesses of her mind to hide away from the conflict she found herself entrenched in. And if they weren't hiding in her mind, they had gone far below to hide in her complaining stomach. For several moments, she couldn't catch her breath. Before she knew it, she was on the ground with her paws protecting her face and ears. She wanted to shut her pridesisers out.
How can I keep trying if everything I do takes me a step backwards? How?
How?
How?
Suddenly, a paw touched her and she flinched like she'd been clawed or burned. It also seemed to break the spell. When she realized she'd been holding her breath, she sighed and listened. Hideous chatter had been replaced by calm. Slowly she uncurled herself and looked around the den. It was empty... Almost.
"I sent them away for now... so that you could have time to rest and collect your thoughts."
To Kiara's surprise, Chaka was standing beside her. Upon sight, a mixture of embarrassment and distrust rose up like bile in her throat. Her mouth fell open slightly.
Chaka averted his eyes. He remarked quietly, "Heard them from all the way outside..."
She sniffed and looked at her paws. "...I guess I should say thank-"
"No need," he cut her off. He then abruptly started towards the mouth of the empty cave, paused, and looked over his shoulder at her. "Haven't I told you before that I'm no hero?"
Kiara frowned slightly in response. She did recall something similar he had said the first day they'd met, after he'd rescued Asuma from the same wild dogs he had harassed.
"See you at dawn. Get some rest."
Stunned, Kiara could only nod. She watched Chaka nod in return before he disappeared once again from view.
The silence was blissful. There had only been a time or two in her life the den had ever been completely empty. As she looked around in a daze, she felt her muscles relax, and her mind begin to unclench itself and work again.
Kiara swallowed hard. In the middle of the den's floor, she rested her head on her paws. She hoped hours wouldn't pass before she convinced herself to finally sleep, and she wished just as hard that everything would be better in the morning.
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Natin's misty breath made rings around his muzzle, and his eyes and throat burned. Minutes before they'd finally reached the river and had yet to locate Asuma and Tanga. To cover their scent, they were pounding through the shallows while they hugged the bank, which sloped upwards a little bit above their heads. Kovu was in the lead. The riverbed stretched endlessly before them like the underbelly of a serpent.
"Keep up!"
Natin's lungs ached too much to reply to Kovu's urging. He was equally as fit as Kovu, if not more, but his uncle's determination was driving him within inches of his breaking point. At the pace Kovu had set, it would've been difficult to keep up even on flat, dry terrain. All Natin could do was force himself to run faster.
"It's best... that when you attack you don't hesitate. If there's an opening, take it. You're opponents make mistakes, and the goal is to make less mistakes than them. Mistakes get you killed."
"The best places to hit are the ankles, abdomen, eyes- and if I can get them, the paws."
"Good. Now what's even better than that?"
"... Excuse me?"
"You have an enemy. What's an even better way to finish him off?"
"But I just told you what the most vital areas are besides the neck-"
"Besides direct combat, Natin."
He'd stood there a moment, unable to speak the answer to Kovu's prompt. He'd glanced down at the ground a couple times. Finally he muttered, "Ambush."
"Right."
"It's cowardly."
Kovu had narrowed his eyes. "Your goal during direct combat is to exploit the weaknesses of your enemy. It's one of their weaknesses. Everyone let's their guard down at some point."
The look his uncle had given him had forced the younger lion to suppress a shiver.
It had been a challenge.
One that Natin had never exploited despite how much Kovu had trained him.
Maybe you're not a coward... maybe you don't care about him as much as you think... maybe you've just waited all this time because you know he's waiting for you to make the move that will stop him for good, he thought to himself. Maybe... maybe you're as messed up as Asuma is...
"I said keep up!"
"Sorry!" Natin rasped, snapped from his thoughts. A weak flush of energy propelled him forward to fill the gap that had opened between him and Kovu. He feared that with each step he took, the next would cause him to trip and tumble into the muddy river bank.
They ran another quarter mile and he was falling behind again. Natin had yet to see any sign of Asuma or Tanga, and he begged the Great Kings that they wouldn't be captured by the lionesses before they found each other.
Or even worse- we are racing the wrong direction and wasting precious time...
Just then, he looked up to the bank just ahead and saw his cousins.
His muscles strained and protested when he skidded to a stop at Kovu's side. In the cool air, steam was rolling off his and Kovu's pelts as they watched Tanga and Asuma jump gracelessly down the bank to meet them.
"You made it," Asuma greeted them, "but we've been waiting-"
"Sauda delayed us," Kovu explained shortly.
Asuma glanced at Natin before returning his attention back onto Kovu with a small affected shrug. "Well... are we crossing now?"
Natin groaned inwardly when Kovu shook his head.
"We covered our tracks by treading water," his uncle said, still panting. "We need to lose your trail... and it will throw them off if we all run back the way Natin and I came... They'll naturally think we're aiming for a distance gap."
Tanga said, "Then we'll cross?"
Kovu nodded. "Follow me. Stay in the water. They'll think you two crossed here if they get this far."
Asuma eyed his cousin and father. "Do you need a moment?"
Natin was still panting hard when Kovu turned to him. The expression on his face told him to suck it up. He nodded in return, and Kovu gave a short announcement before turning and sprinting way.
Natin more than anything wanted to vomit.
By then, mud was splattered on his legs clear up to his belly. Some of the mud had made it onto his chin and cheeks while he splashed through the river's edge. Eventually, he had fallen behind Asuma and Tanga. He was becoming disoriented and was short of breath.
Cross already! he shouted inwardly.
Lungs and throat scorching, a memory surfaced in his mind. He recalled one dark night, when the sky had been overcast. He'd been living under Kovu's care for something like six months. It'd been a few nights after Kovu had started teaching him the art of ambush- more specifically how to catch an enemy in his sleep.
He'd been unable to stay asleep that night, a lingering feeling that Kovu had been setting him up for a challenge making him feel overall uneasy. He distinctly remembered his stomach paining him and his tense jaw hurting while he'd laid there grinding his teeth. He'd stared into the darkness, listening and watching. Kovu had been asleep for hours, hardly tossing or turning like he'd normally done. At some point, Natin had given a resigned sigh and had stood up to stretch.
In the next instant, he'd been standing over Kovu while he slept, having walked absently to his side.
Though he'd been scarcely able to see Kovu's face, from what he could tell his uncle had looked especially peaceful. All bitterness had drained from his face. Natin wasn't sure how long he'd stood there, but when he'd regained his focus, he realized that Kovu had turned over and was lying with his back facing him. Natin had looked up then. No one else was awake. Only him, and the night was quiet. He stood stock still and turned his attention back to Kovu, who was breathing softly and deeply at his tingling paws. His paws had felt like they'd been on fire.
You did that several more times that year... staring at him with loathing before turning around and trying to fall back asleep. But not one time could you finally work yourself up to-
Natin heard a shout from up ahead suddenly that snapped him from his thoughts. When his eyes refocused, he realized that Kovu was now in the water. It was up to his belly, and he had turned around in the water to shout at Tanga and Asuma who were still standing in the shallows, their backs hunched. They were looking nervously from their father to the ominous water. Natin thought they looked young and frail.
"C'mon, we can rest... after we've crossed... I promise! I know you can do it!"
Eyes wide and filled with worry, Tanga was gasping for breath when Natin skidded to a stop. She coughed miserably. "The ri... riv... it's to-oo rough! I can't!"
Natin wasn't surprised to see that the river was slightly choppy on the surface, but it angered him that Kovu was pushing his children so far. The river wasn't extraordinarily wide, nor was it important where they ended up on the opposite bank, but fighting the water would take its toll after the amount of energy they had already exerted. Catching their breath would make all the difference.
"What's wrong?" Kovu called.
Natin called back, "They... They need a moment!"
"But we're almost there!" Kovu shouted as he took a step backwards. He was trying to coax them in. The wild-eyed lion stumbled a little, but he was quickly back on steady paws. He looked equally as exhausted, but his determination was severely clouding his judgement.
Too bad he wouldn't be the one to drown... Natin found himself thinking.
Asuma glanced over at Natin when he must have heard his labored gasps. The light-furred lion then sputtered firmly, "We need rest n... now!"
Distracted, Natin thought he saw Kovu flash his teeth in a snarl. The lion pushed through the water.
As he came forward, Asuma and Tanga started to back up.
"Don't let your paws touch the dirt," Kovu warned, scowling. He stopped when the water was half-way up his forelegs. "We can't let them catch us."
Natin grimaced at the thought.
Asuma was shaking his head. "We'll drown if-"
"I won't let you drown," Kovu snapped.
"But-"
"Enough! Now c'mon! Do it for me!"
Kovu spun around and leaped back into the water. He started swimming. When he looked over his shoulder and saw that they were hesitating still, he started shouting at them again.
Natin closed his eyes. He felt like vomiting.
"Natin."
He opened his eyes and saw that both Asuma and Tanga were looking at him, desperation in their eyes.
Asuma's face was the picture of conviction. "Natin... what if..."
Natin looked at Kovu. He had made it a quarter of the way across the river and he was turning back around again. The young, blue-eyed lion's face flushed.
"This isn't a game!" Kovu shouted. "I'll drag-"
Just when he must have hit the bed of the river, Kovu fell silent, his ears cocked. He stood there, looking past them to the bank above their heads.
Natin swiveled his view from Kovu to where his uncle was staring and cocked his ears, too.
"What's that?" Tanga asked. "Sounds like... thunder."
Natin couldn't help himself when he clambered up the small bank slope and looked across the dry, level land.
His heart suddenly became as functional as a rock lodged in his chest.
"Run!" he shouted. When he turned, he accidentally crossed his legs and tumbled into the water, landing on his back. He felt himself roll into Tanga or Asuma. Coughing, he managed to get up and shout, "Stampede!"
Trying to shake the mud and water that dripped from his mane into his eyes, Natin began to cross the river with his cousins. He couldn't see her clearly, but he knew that Tanga was swimming next to him with Asuma a few lengths ahead. He could hear Kovu shouting at them, but from where, Natin wasn't sure.
When the herd animals started to cascade into the river, all Natin could hear was the yelping of animals and an overbearing, resounding thunder. Waves began to crash at his back as he struggled to get across. Animals were pushing each other into the water. He thought he heard Tanga shriek.
Suddenly, he realized, he was nowhere near his cousins. Everything became a blur.
"I can't see!" he felt himself shout. The sound of his own voice was unable to reach his ears, engulfed by the bellows of prey animals.
Natin went to shout again when he felt hot, jumping bodies begin to shove, bump, and crowd him. Arching his neck and thrashing his paws, he felt like the river had a firm grasp on him. There was no room to swim. He was soaked to his skin. The hoofed animals ignored his presence, and all he could sense were the crashing waves they sent spilling over his head, and the muffled, excited cries they whooped and grunted.
When he was about to take a deep breath, a large body was thrown down heavily onto his back, forcing him well under the waves. The wind was knocked out of him and his chest began to burn. For a fleeting moment, he felt the muddy riverbed beneath his paws, and he instinctively used the bottom as a springboard to the surface before he could panic any further...
Disoriented, one after another he felt the sharp kicks to his head as the stupid animal continued to stomp around for sure footing. Somewhere inside of him, he realized it must have been for only a few seconds, but in the forefront of his mind it seemed to endure as hours of pure hell.
Without realizing it, he finally managed to fight his way back to the surface, where he let out a strangled scream.
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A/N:
I only need to polish up the next chapter, so the wait shouldn't be too extreme… probably about as long as you guys had to wait for this one, (give or take), which was roughly 9 days. The one after that is at the same stage. Just sit tight until then.
Didn't expect all this, now did you? :D