Copyright Disney(Anything recognizable)
~oOo~
"You cannot continue to go against my decisions," Uru snapped, Ahadi padding past her to block her way.
"It's for the best, Mega's cub will make a good Queen, and his Pride has honor. They will make good allies," he pleaded, the Queen looked as if he'd slapped her.
"That may be, but I have made my decision. Sarabi will be named the Throne Princess. The new King will take her as his mate," Ahadi bristled at her, and despite him outweighing her by far, she didn't so much as blink as he stepped closer to her.
"Mufasa will take Sarafina as his mate," Ahadi snarled "This was decided long ago, Taka was not named the future King."
"Keep your voice down," Uru snapped, glancing at the lioness with four cubs at her belly. "If Mufasa is not a suitable King, then Taka may well take his place. It was never your decision."
"I am the King!" Uru's voice deepened into a snarl, waking the nursing lioness.
"And I am the daughter of Mohatu, the royal Queen!" she snarled, turning away from him to stalk out of the cave, pausing on the ledge above the newly awake lionesses. "I say these words as Queen of the Pridelands: the next Queen shall be Sarabi, daughter of Themba and Halsara. Any who wish to challenge my decision, stand forward."
"You can't do this!"
In her youth, the Queen had been headstrong, but no threat to a skilled fighter, weighing less than most her age. She had been challenged many times in her youth, when her father ruled the Pride, and lost as often as she had won. Now, she outweighed every lioness in her Pride, while being as quick as a cheetah mid-fight. None had won a fight with her in many years. Ahadi was the Pride's best match for the furious Queen.
"I am the Queen, in these lands, my words is law," Ahadi circled around her side, ears pinned to his head.
"I refuse to raise cubs who's lives I have no say in!" Uru met his gaze with unfathomable amber eyes.
"They are my sons. They do not require your presence."
The Pride exchanged nervous glances. The lioness paw shuffled. Not one spoke. Uru padded down the slope, Ahadi taking her place on the ledge, as she gathered her lionesses with a flick of her tail and leading them toward the river. His gaze followed them as they vanished down the path, before leaping down, and turning in the opposite direction, tail-tip flicking back and forth slowly.
~oOo~
"Mum?"
"Mum? Wake up?"
"Wake her up."
"You wake her up!"
"She's awake," Uru sat up slowly, flicking her tail out to pull her sons back into the nest, resting her head on her paws in the hope of a bit more sleep. Mufasa had other plans, as her younger son placed his forepaws on her muzzle and peered down at her with eyes that reminded her of her father's.
"Mum, you promised to show us the Pridelands today!" Uru's response was to cover her face with a paw. Mufasa was undeterred, leaping onto her back and leaning to protest in her ear. "You promised!"
Uru opened one eye, to find the elder of her sons, Taka, who's eyes matched Ahadi's piercing green gaze, sitting at her side with a curious expression. "Do you want us to go play outside?"
Uru lifted her head, and tuned out Mufasa, to study her cub. Mufasa was boisterous and playful. He got along excellently with the others cub, and was the favorite for all the Pride. Even Ahadi took the time to play with the young cub, despite his efforts to remain away from Pride rock for the last six months. Taka was quiet and extremely shy. The other cubs made fun of him, he was not as strong or daring as his brother, and his only playmates were the young Princess of the Maji Pride, Sarafina, and the cub that Uru had selected to be the future Queen, Sarabi.
Admittedly, Uru had done little to discourage this. While it was tradition that the cubs not be told who was the firstborn – and therefore, the next King – until they were adults, she had proclaimed that Mufasa was the firstborn. It would be a disgrace to take it back now, and, yet, it was against the law of her father's reign and her mother's ancestors to name the secondborn the King. She knew very well that if Sarabi and Taka became mates, she would have little trouble changing the mind of her Pride to allow Taka to be King. Mufasa would be an excellent mate for Sarafina, the quiet, sweet young lioness was exactly what he needed.
So Uru ignored the situation, and when Taka told her of the cub's cruelty, she insisted that he go to play with Mufasa instead, for the cubs dared not challenge his stronger, more confident brother. While she could not say she though young Moto and Tau were good influences on her cubs, they needed to learn to protect themselves, and the rough play of their cousins would aid in that.
"No, Taka. Just give me a moment, why don't you go see Sarabi and her sisters before they leave with Themba?" Uru watched her sons bounce over to their uncle, the six cubs would easily overwhelm most of the Pride, but Themba handled them with a wisdom beyond his years, easily coaching them into gentle play with the lighter lioness cubs. As Uru gave her paws and fur a quick wash, she noted that young Sarabi could give as good as she got with Taka, but faltered when the heavier Mufasa jumped in, only to lunge at him when the male was gently moved by Themba's tail.
Stretching slowly, Uru padded out of her den to the two cubs, nodding at her lionesses and ignoring Ahadi, who was basking in the sun while cleaning his paws. Mufasa and Taka bounded up as she approached, and she stretched slowly, enjoying the rising sun. Before Uru could inform her cubs of the plans for the day, Ahadi approached.
"Uru." Her cubs lept at his paws eagerly, Mufasa bracing himself on Ahadi's slippery mane and staring up at the great lion.
"Can we go with you today, dad? Please? We'll be really good, and I'll watch Taka!" The darker cub bristled, at that but Ahadi gently dislodged Mufasa from his mane and looked to her.
"Actually, I was hoping to just take Mufasa out. I don't want them straying too far in the grasslands. Hyenas have been gathering by Rhino Ridge," Uru bristled. He had taken Mufasa out three times in six months, and taken his elder son only once.
"I won't run off, I promise! I'll stay right beside you... and I don't need to be looked after!" Ahadi looked down at the little cub.
"A promise made in the den means nothing once a cub is among the exciting scents and sights of the grasslands," he told Taka, before looking to Uru.
"Aww, mum, can't we go?" Taka asked, looking up at her with huge green eyes. "I've never gone anywhere with dad!"
"He took you out once," Mufasa protested, Taka settled for shooting him a glare and staring at his paws.
"Once. With you. Down to the watering hole," Ahadi frowned at that, and interrupted Uru.
"The watering hole is very important. Without it, the animals would have no food to drink, and would leave the Pride-"
"You never take Mufasa just down to the watering hole."
"Do not speak to me in that way. Mufasa is older than you, and stronger, Taka. He can handle-"
"Ahadi. Enough. The water hole is very important to the Pridelands, Taka. Even more so than your father says," Uru straighten to look at her mate as her cub looked crestfallen. "Ahadi, if you wish to take Mufasa paroling, you must take Taka as well. You have two sons."
Ahadi nodded slowly, "I understand that you have other plans. I will take Mufasa out tomorrow."
As his family stood and watched, the golden lion collected his nephews, Moto and Tau, and led them, with their mother, down the rocks. Uru was broken out of her thoughts when Taka squeaked in pain. Mufasa had shoved him, a bit to hard, and sent him sprawling on the ground. "Why do you always have to ruin everything?"
"I didn't do anything! Dad doesn't like you either!" Mufasa snarled, and would have lept onto his fallen brother, had not Uru placed a heavy paw on his tail.
"Enough. Mufasa, you must never strike a lion when he is down, it is the worst of offenses. You should never have pushed your brother in the first place. If you are stronger, and you may not be, it does not mean you can do whatever you like. Would you like it if Taka shoved you in such a way?" Uru scolded her son.
"He couldn't!" Mufasa protested, stopping short at his mother's look.
"Would you have liked it if he did?"
"No." Uru nodded, releasing his tail.
"You must always place yourself in your opponent's shoes before you attack him. It is your duty as a Prince," Mufasa scuffled his feet on the ground.
"But I'm going to be King, aren't I?" Uru bristled at that.
"Where did you hear such a thing?" Mufasa looked up to her, surprised at her anger.
"From dad. He sai-"
"Never mind your father. He does not know that of which he speaks. Listen to me, both of you. You are Princes of the Pridelands, nothing more until the day I join the Ancient Kings. Do you understand?" BOth cubs nodded.
"Very well. Now, if Taka had shoved you, what would you have wanted him to do?" Mufasa looked at his brother, downcast, and gave his version of a formal apology.
"Sorry," Taka nodded, leaping back to his feet to bruh his shoulder against Mufasa's.
"It's okay," Uru purred, and led her cubs down Pride Rock.
"Did I ever tell you about the herd of zebra I came across on my first hunt? I still remember the leader, a vicious stallion who came at me when I tried to hunt his mares," Mufasa, excited again, spoke first.
"Did you catch one?"
"Will you take us to where you made your first kill?"
~oOo~
Complete re-write here. Sorry it's so short again, I'll try and make the next one about ten pages. I'll be able to use pre-written chapters around chapter twelve, I think, but I needed to re-write their entire cubhood. Again, if I re-write this, I'll post it next chapter. Hopefully up Saturday.
Reviews would be nice.