Chapter Fifteen: Passion Revival
TRON0602: Jeez guys, take a chill pill. All of you. And why must you use Amri? He did no wrong, TRON. Plus Amri doesn't even know Maji, man… ok slight rant over. Enjoy the chapter.
Whoa it's fandoms: Yes, I love making you cry lol jk. I LOVE MAKING YOU SHOW EMOTIONS! Lol. Thank you and enjoy this chapter, I'm sure you'll love it.
Guest: You'll have another song you'll have to listen to after this, lol. Enjoy the chapter.
CSIMentalistTLK Lover: So many feels, I know. I cried myself, and it felt like part of me died in pure joy of Kopa singing one of my favorite songs :) Enjoy the chapter.
I apologize for the lateness of this chapter. I've been sick, again, damned immune system anyway. One more focus chapter. This one stars Ashaki, Myota, Muujiza and… a surprise. You'll see *wiggles eyebrows*
Ashaki had found Nurisha and Chaka with Tojo and the triplets. The Queen smiled when she saw Nurisha nuzzle Damu, but gave the white lioness a stern look. Nuri smiled at her adoptive mother, almost saying, "I know, be careful." Chaka smiled up at his mother and Ashaki smiled and looked to Tojo.
"How are you holding up, Dad?" Ashaki asked.
"I'm holding up fine. I'm worried about Muujiza, but he's hanging out with Moyo and Fahamu at the second, so he should be okay." Tojo sighed.
"It was a shame. Ramsa was so good for him. They instantly clicked. Instantly, Dad." Ashaki said. Tojo nuzzled his eldest child.
"I saw it too, sweetie. And it wasn't a rushed click. It was a good click." Tojo said. Ashaki felt tears in her eyes and she sniffled.
"I miss Mom. She'd know what to do." Ashaki said. Tojo frowned and held his daughter close.
"We all miss her. She was very capable, and yes, she'd know what to do," Tojo backed and looked into his daughter's electric blue eyes, "but you are her daughter. You know what to do, you know how to handle this." Tojo said. Ashaki smiled sadly.
"Do I?" Ashaki asked.
"You do." Myota's voice filled the area. Ashaki turned to the white lion, seeing his bright gold daughter at his side. Myota's emerald eyes penetrated Ashaki's soul, and the white lion frowned.
"Where's JJ?" Myota asked.
"She… She went ahead," Ashaki blatantly lied, "she needed some time alone." The Queen inwardly knew that JJ would want to tell the pride herself that she was expecting. Myota sighed.
"Poor kid. She's lost so much." Myota said.
"We all lost something a couple nights ago." Ashaki said.
"Mwenzi ran away." Jua suddenly said. Ashaki looked up and into Jua's green eyes, then at Myota. Myota shrugged.
"I couldn't help it. Mwenzi's too far gone now." Myota sighed. Ashaki frowned and instinctively nuzzled Jua, a motherly nuzzle, to which Jua leaned into with a sob. Ashaki shushed the teenager.
"It's all right, Jua. It's okay now. Hush." Ashaki said. Myota and Tojo gazed at the beautiful sight of Jua basically adopting her Queen as her mother, and vice versa. Jua sniffled and looked up at Ashaki.
"Thanks." Jua said. Ashaki smiled at the beautiful golden lioness.
"It wasn't a problem." Ashaki said.
"I have an idea, why don't you go hang out with Nurisha, Chaka, and the Trips? It might do you good to have some friend time, that is, if Tojo doesn't mind watching them." Myota looked to Tojo, who smiled.
"I'm just fine with it." Tojo said. Myota looked to Ashaki.
"I want to talk to you, alone if I can?" Myota asked. Ashaki nodded.
"Sure. I don't mind." The Queen said. The golden-beige Queen and the white lion left the watering hole behind, Tojo watching them, his electric blue eyes smiling. Kweli trotted up to her father.
"Where's 'Shaki going with Myota?" Kweli asked.
"I don't know, but I do know that they're going to be gone awhile." Tojo said. Kweli nodded.
"They make a good pair." Kweli said. Tojo glanced to his youngest daughter with a smile.
*+-/_\-+*
I live to hide
I'm weak and shrewd
I don't suppose you know
Myota and Ashaki walked alongside each other, both quiet until they were far enough from the pride. Myota looked to Ashaki.
"I don't know if you remember but…" Myota began.
"You're Scar's son." Ashaki said, her blue eyes looking into Myota's green. Myota nodded.
"I was hoping you had forgotten." Myota said.
"Why? Myota I'd never kick you out of the pride, if that's what you mean." Ashaki said.
"Not that. Mwenzi's just like Scar. She's weak and she's shrewd." Myota said.
"She also got that from her mother and maternal grandmother. And maternal grandfather. Scar wasn't always bad, you know." Ashaki said.
"How do you know?" Myota asked. Ashaki gazed into Myota's green eyes.
"Grandma Libya told me stories. Scar was the bad one, Taka wasn't. Taka was pushed to the edge after a mishap. No, not a mishap, an assault when he was just protecting his brother's lover." Ashaki said.
"But I was born from Scar. Scar, not Taka. I was possibly a child of rape." Myota said.
"So? The Trips are children of rape, and they know. They cope with it because they know they are loved. You are loved, Myota." Ashaki said. Myota shook his head.
"Only Jua… and even then, she doesn't need me." Myota said. Ashaki's eyes went frigidly bitter.
"What do you mean? You're not going to abandon the daughter that depends on you?" Ashaki demanded coldly. Myota stopped walking and gazed into the Queen's cold glare. Too much pain littered her eyes, yet her emotions were filtered.
I've hidden behind these frigid eyes
They filter what I know
"No. I'm not like Kovu. I won't ever abandon or harm my children." Myota said calmly. Ashaki's gaze became warmer, but not by much. They still held back information she knew.
"There's that… and then your pain, Myota." Ashaki said. Myota looked taken aback.
"I'm not in pain." Myota said.
"Yes, you are. You are in pain. You lost one of your daughters to your cheating wife. You lost your wife to your brother. You lost your mother. You lost your sense of security," Ashaki said, "and you lost the love you thought you shared with your wife."
"What love? I was a second place prize when Kovu chose you." Myota said.
"So this is my fault?" Ashaki asked. Myota grumbled.
"Maybe it is." He said. Ashaki growled and got into Myota's face.
"Look here, good sir, it isn't my fault Kovu mated Kiara. It isn't my fault that I didn't see what the hell was going on. I had as little control as you." Ashaki said.
"Kula was all about teaching control." Myota said. Ashaki slapped Myota across the face, sending the white lion back, making him reel. She hadn't had her claws out at that point, but it still smarted.
"Never, ever, mention that whore's name again! Kula is dead. The rivalry she had with my mother is gone." Ashaki said.
"Yet Kibuluu continues it. Hell, if it hadn't been for me, the Trips would have been raised by him and his murderous pride!" Myota snapped.
"Oh, so now you're the knight in shining armor? Then why don't you just go prove yourself one?" Ashaki retorted.
"Because I'm, in spite of everything, not free!" The white lion yelled. Silence befell the area and the two lions looked at each other. Wars waged in their eyes, and they both knew they were still at war inside since the leaving of their mates.
It bothers me I'm never free
And peace, I'll never know
The Queen gazed at the white lion before her. She saw many things in him, a father, a protector, and a provider, but then she saw something else. She saw the pain in his eyes, the pain of learning his origins. Ashaki walked over to Myota, her head held low.
"I'm sorry." She said simply. Myota looked at her, and he saw a few things. Insecurity, pain, want, and most of all, love.
"Don't be, Ashaki. You shouldn't have to be." Myota whispered. The two lions held their gazes, both feeling the same thing. A lonely emptiness. An emptiness that only the other could fulfill.
I feel inside where nothing lies
And nothing left to show
Ashaki gazed at Myota, her body instinctively getting closer to Myota. The Queen nuzzled under Myota's chin, making the white lion smile. They had denied past feelings before, once, when Kiara had fought with Myota about Mwenzi before the lioness had cheated with Kovu, for their children's sake.
But, that was then. Both had been hurt by the demented Kula, both had had their mothers violently ripped from their lives, and both had their mate cheat on them. The roads they had gone on were leading to this point. The point they had to admit it.
They were each other's saving grace. The other could only save them. Ashaki purred a bit, as did Myota. They both backed away, looking at each other.
"Save me." Myota said, his voice husky. Ashaki licked his cheek.
"Only if you help me know myself." Ashaki whispered, her electric blue eyes darkening to a shade of cobalt.
So, save me
I don't know, know myself
Myota smiled and leaned into Ashaki, and she pushed back just as hard. The feeling of their fur meshing, their bodies touching, just made them realize how alone they had been.
Myota licked Ashaki's neck, which made the Queen purr. She leaned into his tan mane, glad to feel his warmth so close to her. She hadn't planned on being in love again, nor did he.
But this wasn't the love they thought they had for their mates. Kiara had never been this loving, and Kovu had never been this gentle. Everything they experienced before paled in comparison to the moment they were in.
Myota and Ashaki started being playful, pushing back and forth, running, jumping, and finally, tumbling down a hill together. Ashaki ended up on top of Myota, and he licked her cheek. Ashaki gazed into Myota's green eyes that had darkened to a shade of grass green. The Queen smiled, as did Myota.
And I've been
On this side alone
What's beyond it?
Finally the two couldn't take it anymore. They were out of sight from the pride, and they decided to explore what was beyond their loneliness. The daughter of Tama and the son of Scar finally ended an old feud between their families.
*+-/_\-+*
Muujiza wandered away from Moyo and Fahamu, away from the pride. His mind was in a dark spot, and he needed time alone. He looked to the bright blue afternoon sky, seeing the clouds puff up. The Golden Prince sighed and a tear fell from his golden eye.
"Ramsa…" Muujiza said softly.
"Muujiza?" Muujiza's head snapped up at the voice in his mind, and he looked into golden eyes.
"M-Mom?" Muujiza asked. Tama nodded and smiled.
"My little Muujiza. My little miracle, what troubles you?" Tama asked, sitting next to her son. Muujiza sighed.
"Ramsa. My lover… she's dead." The Golden Prince said. Tama gazed at her son and nodded.
"She wouldn't want you to be sad for her, my son." Tama said.
"How do you know?" Muujiza asked his mother.
"Look deep inside yourself. Would she want you saddened? Would she want you to get revenge for her?" Tama asked. Muujiza closed his eyes tight, seeing Kibuluu. He growled aloud. He saw himself killing Kibuluu and taking vengeance for the fallen Downwind Princess.
It comes from below
The man I know
That lives inside of me
Tama's eyes widened, and the Savior Queen desperately wished she could smack her son. Instead she pulled him from his thoughts.
"She wouldn't want you to think like that. That's how Kibuluu thought." Tama reprimanded her youngest child. Muujiza's look softened.
"That… is?" Muujiza asked. Tama nodded.
"His dim mind thought that after Kula's death. I don't want you thinking the same." Tama said strongly, yet softly.
I live inside this blackened mind
It sums up what I see
Muujiza closed his eyes again and he said, "I never thought of it that way."
"Of course you didn't. That's why I am here, Muujiza." Tama said. Muujiza looked to his mother in question.
"It is?" Muujiza asked. Tama nodded.
"You clicked with Ramsa quite well, only, it was the way Ashaki had clicked with Kovu. Lust and passion can bring love, but it can also bring infidelity. Ramsa loved you, I know that. You loved her, too. But, my son… it was in the way you never imagined possible for you." Tama said softly, her voice low. Muujiza gazed into his mother's eyes, his heart ached a bit.
"Really?" Muujiza asked. Tama nodded.
"She came from a very cruel past. It would have ended her, had her mother not stopped the abuse taking place." Tama said. Muujiza's eyes filled with question immediately.
"What?" Muujiza asked.
"Ramsa's father abused her sexually." Tama said softly.
I've found at last
My cruel past has found the end in me
Muujiza lowered his head and sighed. He felt a light rub against his fur and he looked up, seeing Ramsa there, scratches on her body and her neck at an odd angle. The brown lioness only nodded. Muujiza teared up.
"What am I supposed to do without you?" Muujiza whispered. Ramsa nuzzled Muujiza.
"Live on. Look inside yourself one more time, for me. See a different future. It may never be obtained, but… You won't be blackened by Kibuluu's disease." Ramsa whispered. Muujiza closed his eyes again, seeing a totally different future. Kibuluu was dead, but not by Muujiza's paw. Muujiza had a lioness approach him and nuzzle him lovingly.
I reach inside, just one more time
For the man I'll never be
Muujiza opened his eyes and his mother and lover were gone. He was very confused, and he teared up again.
"How am I supposed to obtain this future?" He whispered.
"It is what you make it." A female voice said. The Pridelands Prince turned and saw a golden lioness with a brown nose, light lavender eyes, and black eartufts on her ears. Muujiza reeled backwards a bit, surprised. The lioness chuckled at Muujiza's clumsiness.
"Hey now, it's okay." She said, walking up to him. Muujiza gazed at the golden lioness before him.
"Who are you?" Muujiza asked.
"Kazai, the Princess of the Mountain Pride. You must be Muujiza." Kazai said, her lavender eyes smiling. Muujiza nodded.
"I am. It's a pleasure, Kazai." Muujiza said. Kazai smiled and laughed.
"My father heard about the Pridelanders being chased from home. So… I decided you might need a helping paw." Kazai said.
"What's Malka planning?" Muujiza asked. Kazai chuckled.
"Just multiple small assaults on Pride Rock until the Moonlanders are weakened." Kazai said.
"We don't need that much saving." Muujiza said. Kazai smiled.
"Oh, you don't now?" The princess asked.
So, save me
I don't know, know myself
Muujiza stuttered when Kazai batted her eyelashes perfectly. The Pridelander Prince couldn't make a coherent sentence and Kazai laughed.
"Now you do need some language lessons, my friend." Kazai said. Muujiza stopped stuttering and glared at the Mountain Princess.
"I do now? Then why don't you teach me?" Muujiza asked. Kazai smiled.
"I would be glad to, due to the fact my father sent me here to keep all of you safe." Kazai said.
"He did?" Muujiza asked. Kazai nodded.
"He wants you guys to know you aren't alone." Kazai said.
And I've been
On this side alone
What's beyond it?
Muujiza smiled and looked at Kazai.
"That's exactly what we needed to know." Muujiza whispered.
*+-/_\-+*
So crawl inside
I reach for a sign, how I need it
Ashaki leaned up a little bit, the afternoon sun in her eyes. Myota was sound asleep beside her, and she wanted it no other way, but she nuzzled the white lion to wake him. The white lion woke and nuzzled Ashaki.
"How long have we been gone?" Myota asked.
"Long enough. Let's head back." Ashaki said. Myota smiled and stood up. Ashaki stood herself, her legs somewhat shaky. The two lions walked slowly back to the pride, seeing them all gathered to face their Queen. Ashaki smiled and looked at Myota, who nuzzled her.
To gain what's mine
To gather control, how I lost it
The Queen stepped up and cleared her throat.
"We will return to Pride Rock someday, but for now, we have to wait." Ashaki said.
"Ashaki… Why?" Rikala asked.
"I will let my daughter, JJ, explain why. But there is another reason." Ashaki said.
"And that is?" Kopa asked.
"We have to train. The Moonlanders are strong, disciplined. We are too, but to a lesser extent. This is war, and we have to be better. Always." Ashaki said.
*+-/_\-+*
When will it end?
When will it end?
"When will it all end?" Uru asked.
"I don't know, but it has to, otherwise, they'll all destroy each other!" Jolina said.
"Hush!" Tama ordered. The Queens around the Savior Queen silenced.
"But, Tama, can't you see the violence won't end?" Jolina asked. Tama sighed.
"It will end. Kamaria is our hope. Remember the prophecy?" Tama asked. The Queens murmured.
"We do. The chosen of the Queens of the Past will end the cycle of violence and suffering." Zira said. Tama nodded.
"That means it might end soon enough." Sarabi said. Tama smiled.
When will it end?
When will it end?
*+-/_\-+*
Nala approached Ashaki, her cobalt eyes wide.
"Train? Like Kula trained her pride?" Nala asked. Ashaki nodded.
"Luckily, most of her pride is here, and is now part of us. They can help. We won't be as harsh, but we will fight well." Ashaki said.
"How do you know this, my Queen?" Moyo asked. Ashaki looked to Myota, and Myota smiled and nuzzled her.
"Because we've gone through droughts, rainstorms, wars, and insanity, together. We will fight together, and we will train together. We are each other's saving grace." Myota said.
"We help each other know the other, trust the other. We became one a little over a year ago, and as one, we will know ourselves." Ashaki said, leaning into Myota's mane.
Save me
I don't know, know myself
"We're not alone, either." Muujiza stepped from the crowd, Kazai at his side.
"My father is willing to help, as am I." The Mountain Princess said.
"The Mountain Pride will assist the best they can." Muujiza said. Ashaki smiled at her brother widely and warmly, then glanced and nodded to Kazai.
"We will know what's beyond this hell." Ashaki said.
And I've been
On this side alone
What's beyond it?
"I only have a single question." Tojo said. Ashaki looked at her father.
"And that is?" Ashaki asked.
"Do we have a Queen alone or a King and Queen?" Chumvi asked. Ashaki and Myota looked at each other. Electric blue and lime green met, crawled together, reaching for the other's approval. Myota smiled and Ashaki sighed contentedly.
"We have a King and Queen." Ashaki said as she looked to her pride. Myota smiled and nuzzled her, and she laughed. Jua, Chaka, and Nurisha ran to their parents and nuzzled them. The pride fell silent in awe of the beauty of the scene.
So crawl inside
I reach for a sign, how I need it
"We will gain what is ours?" Nala asked. Ashaki nodded.
"As one, I, the Daughter of Tama, will promise it." Ashaki said.
"And I, the Son of Scar shall undertake the task." Myota said. Tojo felt himself smiling broadly at the pair.
To gain what's mine
To gather control, how I lost it.
"We will take what's ours. We will draw together to regain our home." Myota and Ashaki said together. The light shined brightly around the pair as the pride roared in approval. And just like that, Ashaki and Myota were blessed as King and Queen. They felt the warmth of the light around them and their children.
"You will regain control." Tama's voice sounded around Myota and Ashaki.
"And it will never be lost." Taka's voice sounded with Tama's.
"Let us go to the jungle and begin our training." Ashaki said when the roars died down.
A/N: ASHAKI AND MYOTA ARE TOGETHER AT LAST! I bet you guys didn't see this coming… unless you follow my dA account then yeah you knew. But it had to happen. Before you scream "INCEST!" let me say this: it had to happen for Kula and Tama's feud to be truly settled. The Son of Scar and the Daughter of Tama create a whole new scenario. Plus, they're far enough related that it doesn't matter. In fact, the cubs created from this pairing are probably going to be healthier than most. So don't give me flak because I'll dress you down.
Myota: YEAH! BE NICE TO THE AUTHOR!
Ashaki: She can easily make it hard on you, you know. I know her well enough.
Me: Oh, and a quick question. Did the song fit? I've had doubts about it but…
Myota: CHIN!
Ashaki: Are you that worried?
Me: Well, yeah… *blushes*
Ashaki: *smiles* I think it fit.
Myota: Hey, can I wrap this up?
Me: Go ahead.
Myota: Next chapter, we will reunite the Pridelanders with JJ/Kamaria and JJ will shock her mother. Plus, we get a glance at what's happening at Pride Rock! Review and stay tuned!