Author's Notes

Haradion:

Hello everyone.

To my regular readers: Hello! You're in for something a bit different.

To Firefly's regular readers: Hello! My name is Haradion.

This story is a bit of a deviation from my usual fare. It is not set within the same continuity of the rest of my work, but rather, this is set within the continuity of Firefly's excellent work, Kopa's Legacy. As such, this story is a collaboration between Firefly and Myself which began life as a short story I wrote that is set in his universe..

Firefly and I have both been writers in this Fandom for many years now and in that time we've corresponded regularly, about each other's writing. I may even be able to claim partial responsibility (or blame, depending on your view) for the rewrite of Kopa's Legacy is undergoing, having begun a rewrite of my own series some years back.

In that time, I have always been a big fan of Firefly's work, and I have relished the opportunity to put my own spin on his characters and world. Well this is that story. A prequel of sorts to Kopa's Legacy. It's Canon.

If you haven't already, I highly suggest you check out the rest of Firefly's Universe, which is in my view the definitive Kopa Fic.

If you're coming to me from Firefly's work, and you enjoyed my writing you may find you enjoy my other series, The Lion King: Judgement, and The Lion King: Legacies, collectively known as the Saga of the Broken Throne.

Take care folks.

Incarnate Firefly:

Greetings to my fellow TLK aficionados and fans of Haradion's work. That was, uh, really high praise but thank you, Haradion. And thank you, everyone, for your continued interest in this series that I've torn down and (partially) rewritten over and over again. I may have jumped the gun the first time because I was so excited to throw the Lion Guard into the story before I knew when or how the show would end, but I can't complain since it has led to some interesting developments for the current version. And yes, Haradion was one of the people who encouraged me to go for the rewrite when I was on the fence about it in 2016, so you can definitely blame/give credit to him for what I have going on now.

Anyway, this story materialised out of some conversations the two of us have had on Discord over the months. I should clarify that this was written from the ground up by him, with some input from me here and there made afterward. So expect this to be very much in keeping with his style even though it's set on my timeline. That said, Haradion and I have some co-writing plans in the future and those we will blend a little more exotically. In the meantime, check out the rest of his work if you haven't already. I'm in the process of reading them right now and they are fantastic.

Born in Grief

"I am telling you, I left it right here." Zuri insisted. The two lionesses at her side looked where she was pointing. They saw the empty den, some disturbed dirt and the faintest trace of blood along with several discarded bones. Clearly there had once been something delicious occupying the space, but no longer. Now there was simply viscera and cracked femurs. Discarded and left to rot. Whoever had devoured it had done a remarkably thorough job, for there was not even the faintest strip of gristle left on them.

Kiara and Tiifu looked at each other for a brief moment and then back to Zuri. Tiifu sniffed, looking dubious.

"I suppose somebody thought you were done with it?" she suggested thoughtfully. Zuri glared at her, eyes narrowed.

"Well I wasn't. My scent must have been all over it!" Zuri protested. "You know what I think? I think someone sneaked it out and I bet I can tell you just who it was." She said, "Or at least, I can narrow it down by about half. It was one of those filthy savage Outsiders."

Kiara sighed. In the past, Zuri typically stopped short of outright malice, at least whilst she was around the Princess of the Pridelands, but this was growing tiresome. There was only so much of this sort of talk that Kiara was willing to tolerate, and her patience was rapidly dwindling. Zuri had been her friend for many years and in that time had earned the benefit of her doubt, but even Kiara's patience and optimism had its limits.

"Zuri, not this again. I have told you, it really doesn't matter." Kiara reminded her friend, as diplomatically as she could.

She could hear her father's voice in her head even as she saw Zuri grind her teeth and go taut. Diplomacy, King Simba had always impressed upon her and her brother, was knowing when to compromise and when to dig one's heels in. And on the scale of things that mattered, the fate of a snack was barely registering as inconsequential. It was all she could do to keep her exasperation out of her voice. She wondered if Kion ever had to put up with this, in his faraway kingdom at the Tree of Life. Somehow she doubted it. Kion might well have been the leader of the Night Pride, but in some respects she thought he had it easier than she did. He didn't have to deal with this, for instance. And she didn't have any blessing from the ancestors to help her in this type of situation.

"It does matter." Zuri argued. "I know what you said. We are one. Etcetera." She said it with an eye roll. "But Kiara, really if they're going to be Pridelanders again they really ought to start acting like it."

Kiara sighed. She had been left rather disappointed in Zuri's behaviour of late. It would have been beyond naive to expect everyone to forget past wrongs overnight and not all of the Pridelanders were especially welcoming of their former enemies. To her increasing annoyance, it was becoming clear that Zuri counted herself among them. Most of the time she held her tongue, for Kiara's sake if nothing else, but occasionally her true emotions leaked out, and this was one such occasion.

As she watched, Zuri held up one of the bones between her clawtips and practically shoved it in Kiara's face. It was cracked and the marrow had been sucked out. "Look at this! Just look! Eww." She said. "This is revolting. They eat like hyenas. It's absolutely disgusting." She said, shuddering. It wasn't especially pleasant, Kiara had to admit. Tiifu looked repulsed as well.

"I wish they wouldn't be so greedy." Tiifu admitted. "I don't have anything against the Out- former, Outlanders. Sorry." She said, catching Kiara's disapproving look, "But I think Zuri is right this time. Someone needs to tell them they can't go around gorging themselves senselessly or behaving like scavengers. They have got to leave some for the rest of us, or then where will we be?" She asked. Kiara sighed. Not Tiifu too.

"Don't be so alarmist. They aren't overhunting, quite the reverse. There is plenty of food for everyone." Kiara reminded them. "I really don't think we need to stir up trouble over - "

"Seriously? Come on Kiara, this is gross. Look, some of the bone is missing. I didn't even know that was digestible. They've picked it clean! It's not the first time either! They're backwards savages. Regressed beyond all help." She declared. Kiara flinched. She wanted to chastise her, but it was difficult to do so with the remains of the carcass sitting right there in front of her. Tiifu looked uncomfortable but she didn't disagree.

"If it actually was one of the... former outsiders, I'll have a quiet word with Kovu, and get him to speak to some of the others. Tactfully." Kiara said eventually. Zuri seemed placated at that, and gave a satisfied sniff. Kiara wished she showed a little more patience. The meat was old anyway, from a hunt from a few days back. The hunting party would bring in a fresh kill soon enough, so there was no need to start picking fights. Still. Better to get it sorted out now. Kiara looked out past the den. Someone must have seen something.

"Kula?" Tiifu asked, following her gaze and seeing the dark furred lioness nearby. "Did you see who was eating this earlier? Was it one of the Ex-Outsider Pridesisters?"

Kula looked at the three younger lionesses and frowned.

Kiara sighed, and turned to force a smile at the older lioness. She liked Kula. She was one of her father's generation and old cubhood friends with both of her parents. Moons older than the three of them and Kiara had known her all of her life.

"Yes." Kula answered carefully and shifted to look at them. "They were here earlier. It was... Imara I think." She said, thinking back. Zuri gave a triumphant cry, and Kiara winced.

"Imara? The Strongest?" Imara definitely stood out. Kiara sighed a little more at the news as well. It really had been one of the Outsiders. She had been hoping to avoid another confrontation between Zira's old Pride and the rest of the Pridelands. They were supposed to have put the past behind them. It made things difficult when otherwise perfectly decent lionesses like Zuri kept picking quarrels with them over some perceived slight, both real and imagined. But there could be no case of mistaken identity when it came to Imara; she was huge and cut such a striking figure. "You're certain?" Kiara asked, not sounding too hopeful. Kula nodded.

"Yes, your highness. Quite sure. I am fairly certain she was the last to touch those scraps. She wasn't greedy about it though. She offered to split it with Babu. He turned her down. He's never been one for bones, not since he was a little cub. It brings back bad memories." Kula said, rolling her eyes. Kiara nodded. Babu and his twin sister were both older than her, and had been born towards the end of the famine during her Great-Uncle's rule, around the same time as Kovu. He'd probably had more than enough bones for his lifetime.

"Split it with Babu?! It wasn't hers to split! You see!" Zuri said triumphantly. "I knew it! Those greedy little parasites. They're so... Uncouth." She said with disdain. Kiara sighed. Brilliant. That was all she needed. The only thing worse than Zuri's low opinion of the Outsiders was when she felt it was vindicated.

"Wait a moment, sorry, what do you mean last?" Tiifu asked, curiously. Her other friend never seemed to quite share Zuri's venom, but nor was she ever quick to speak up on the Outsider's behalf. Kiara wished she would. It might do Zuri good to get pushback from someone other than her. She welcomed the distraction though, and looked at Kula in response.

"Well, it was Tazama at first, she and that Majivu fellow." Kula thought. Kiara blinked at that. Tazama made sense, she was another of Vitani's Lion Guard. Majivu was a surprise though. She didn't know the shy male at all, except that he was friendly with Kovu. By sight he was fairly unmistakable as well: there weren't that many other males in the Pride, and there were even fewer among the Outsiders and she was fairly sure that Majivu had been one of the lions that had fought with Kula's son during their last confrontation with Zira before she and Kovu had managed to put a stop to the whole sordid business. There was just as little chance of Kula mistaking him for anyone else as Imara. Even if she and her children didn't seem to hold a grudge. Kiara pressed a clawed paw to her head and was trying to figure out what on earth she was going to tell her mate when Tiifu realised something.

"What do you mean first? Was it Tazama or Majivu?" She asked, sounding confused.

"It was the two of them. And then Imara." Kula said firmly. Tiifu cocked her head and looked at the desiccated remains. Zuri scowled.

"Kula, there's not enough meat here for three lions, there's not enough for two. It's my leftovers from the other day I was saving for a snack. That's why I was annoyed that some Outlander has..." She trailed off, staring at the scraps. Kiara paused and took a closer look herself. She was right. It was a meagre meal even for one.

"I know what I saw." Kula said. "Boga said the same as you. Imara said something about not letting perfectly good food go to waste by letting it spoil."

Kiara turned and looked at Zuri with a flat stare. Tiifu's mouth had dropped open. For a few moments Zuri at the very least had the good grace to look embarrassed, and pawed at the ground.

"...Oh." Zuri said, feebly. Then she glared around defiantly. "I wasn't going to let it spoil! It was mine!"

"You just said it was cracked to the marrow, and that you thought it was disgusting." Kiara countered. She was starting to piece together what had happened. "Zuri I swear to the Kings above - "

"Umm." Tiifu said, delicately. "Maybe you should get Kovu to remind them that there's plenty of decent meat to be had?" She suggested, as Zuri coughed. Cracking the bones for the marrow and stripping the gristle was just... Sad. Kovu had told her that food had been hard to come by in the Outlands. The idea of leaving scraps to go bad was unthinkable to many of them. She had laughed the first time she had seen Kovu pick a carcass clean like a one lion swarm of locusts. She hadn't the second time.

"I'll do that." Kiara said, glaring at her friend. Zuri blushed. She didn't apologise for her mistake, or her completely disproportionate reaction, but she did look embarrassed.

"Where even is Kovu? I've not seen him all morning." Tiifu asked, curiously. Kiara looked away from Zuri and realised the same. Kovu was nowhere to be seen around Pride Rock. Normally she preferred it that way, but now she didn't know where he was, she seemed nervous.

"He left earlier, about the same time I arrived." Kula said. "I thought that was his routine in the morning."

It wasn't. Kiara frowned.

"That's… odd." She said.

Kiara found Kovu eventually, but it took her longer than she'd have liked. She ended up having to poke Zazu and the hornbill had told her he'd been sighted some ways around from Pride Rock. Kovu was pacing through the Savannah with a dark look of intense concentration. He didn't react when she called out to him.

"Kovu!" She tried again. This time, he seemed to hear her, and slowed.

"Kiara?" He asked, surprised to see her so far out from the Pridelands.

"Kovu." She was smiling in relief. "There you are. Nobody has seen you since sunrise. Have you been out here the whole time?" She asked him, sounding concerned. "Whatever for?"

"No reason." He said. The dark maned lion pushed his mane out of his eyes. He was sweating. "I just... wanted to step away from Pride Rock for the moment. I needed to clear my head." He told her, and flashed her a smile. She wasn't fooled.

"Have you been running for that long? You must be exhausted!"

Kovu gave her a pained smile. In truth, he was rather tired. He used to be able to run much further and much faster before his muscles ached to quite this extent.

"I'm fine." He promised her. "Vitani and I used to run between the far spires back in the outlands. Endurance training. She and the Lion Guard train like that every day, but she was teasing me the other day because she thought I was losing my edge. Getting soft." He said. Pudgy more like.

"Was she right?" Kiara asked him, smirking.

"Oh yeah." He breathed deeply. Now that he'd stopped it was all he could do not to be panting. "She usually is. Mother would have been furious." He said. Kiara nuzzled him gently and he returned the loving gesture.

"Why did you run off earlier? I looked for you." she asked him. Kovu sighed.

"It was getting busy around Pride Rock and I didn't want to be the cause of an argument." He said at length. Kiara growled, uncharacteristically annoyed. It took a lot to rile her up, but Kovu was a subject that could easily draw that measure from her.

"If this is about Zuri and Tiifu I am so sorry. I've told them again and again that they need to get it into their heads that the Outsiders aren't going anywhere. I promise you they're doing better, neither of them is trying to be unpleasant. Tiifu just puts her foot in her mouth sometimes and says the wrong thing. And Zuri just... has her biases. She leaps to conclusions." She said. As she defended them aloud, it sounded pretty feeble even to her own ears and her heart twisted with guilt. They way they sometimes acted inexcusable, but it was so hard to criticise them when she had known them for so long and knew then to be capable of so much better.

To her relief though, Kovu didn't seem upset. In fact he was chuckling. "Zuri and Tiifu? Don't worry, I'm not worried about those two. Go easy on them; I know Zuri is a pain, but I am fairly sure that Kasi winds them up on purpose. Zuri might be insufferable but it's not entirely one-sided."

"Kovu, I wouldn't be friends with them if they weren't –".

"It's okay, Princess." He said. His pet name for her. "I'm sure that both of them have their fine qualities. They're extremely loyal to you, for a start." He said, sniggering. There was an odd look in his eye when he said that that made her pause. He was speaking from experience.

"Oh, what have they done now..." She muttered. "I swear on Grandpa's mane -"

"If you must know, Zuri and Tiifu came to me not long after everything was settled and Simba announced we were going to be mated." Kovu clarified. It had been some moons ago now.

"To... say hello?" Kiara asked tentatively. Kovu grinned. She normally liked it when he smirked like that. It made him seem confident and at ease, but now he looked like he was laughing at her expense.

"Ha. No. Threatening to do something rather unpleasant to me if I ever broke your heart. Zuri is smart enough to trust that you knew what was good for you, when you chose me, but she'd be there and waiting in case it turned out you were wrong about me." He said.

"Zuri said that? That if you broke my heart she'd teach you a lesson? Did Tiifu say anything?"

"Tiifu didn't say a word at first and let Zuri do the talking, but I got the distinct impression she was clinging to the desperate hope that you're going to come to your senses and pick Afua. Apparently the two of you are star-crossed lovers from the day your parents found him in that rockslide and you were due to realise your feelings for each other any day now, if I hadn't come along. I've been a disruption apparently. It was news to me too. And him I should think, has anyone told him?" He continued to snigger. "She was terribly upset over me ruining things." He said with considerable mirth.

"Stop it. Stop laughing." Kiara said, but couldn't help joining him in smirking. Kovu's laughter was infectious. It was just like Tiifu to have planned out everything in her head that way. "Go back to what Zuri said, I can only handle one absurd thing at a time. She threatened you? I thought Dad might try something ridiculous like that but-"

"No, Simba hasn't said a word. Nor has Queen Nala. They've both been rather supportive actually. I think Simba feels he needs to make up for past mistakes. It was just Zuri and Tiifu. She tried her best to look menacing when she did it too. It nearly even worked." He said, sounding amused. "Then after I said I understood her loud and clear she said she was sorry about Mother." He said. His joveility had faded. There was a still, consuming silence as Kiara processed that.

Kiara blinked.

"Really?"

"Really. She isn't heartless. I wasn't sure how to take that to be quite honest. But I thought it was endearing. Tiifu and Zuri might be a little annoying sometimes, but they aren't bad people. I know that. You don't need to defend them to me." He assured her.

Kiara nuzzled him again and gave a soft purr. She was happy her lover and her friends could at least tolerate each other's presence. That was something. She could build on that. Who knew what the future might hold?

"I love you, Kovu. But if it wasn't the pair of them... why did you leave so early this morning?" She asked him, gently. Kovu glanced back at Pride Rock. Its familiar shape is clear in the horizon. He knew everyone who was there, from both sides of the recent conflict.

"Oh, no reason." He said. He hated lying to his mate.

As the days passed though, it became more than obvious that all wasn't well. Kovu always seemed distracted, on edge. Constantly looking over his shoulder. At first Simba had presumed that Kovu simply struggled to relax, and was unable to let his guard down. He wouldn't be the only one among the former outsiders to have difficulty adjusting to living in the peaceful and bountiful Pridelands. Trouble sleeping was rather widespread among the outsiders and the worst of the cases had even found themselves speaking to Rafiki, though precisely what words were exchanged was a matter strictly between them and the Mjuzi. Not even King Simba was privy to what was discussed there. With his help, the former outsiders began to lose some of the roughness that marked them apart from their peers.

Kovu had turned down the offer, assuring Simba that that was not the issue, and indeed if Kovu was similarly affected by his time in the Outlands, it was an inconsistent thing, intermittent thing. Most of the time he seemed perfectly at ease, especially with Kiara and the rest of her family. He was relaxed with Sarabi and Nala, and although he retained a little nervousness around his father in law, it quickly faded whenever the two spent much time in each other's company. Many of the Pridelanders who wished to know what kind of lion the new Prince Consort was, also found him to be a kind and temperate lion.

Every so often though, that manner would vanish, to be replaced with a mood that could generously be called skittish, and he appeared nervous, agitated and anxious. It was a mood swing that all of the Pridelands Royal family began to pick up on, especially as they became more used to his usual behaviour and the disparity became more pronounced.

"Right." Nala said, staring at Kovu. "What exactly is the problem?" She asked him. The two were hunting together (a clever ruse on Nala's part to get her son-in-law by his lonesome), with only a few lionesses in the distance acting as spotters for the pair of them, and Kovu gave a start, realising that he hadn't been paying attention, having been too surprised by her offer to hunt together. Since he had met Kiara by offering to teach her to hunt, Nala had alleged she wished to see what he was capable of. He ought to have suspected she had an ulterior motive. They already knew she was much better than he was.

"Sorry." He said, chiding himself. "The gazelle herds. What were you saying?"

"That was a while ago. What's really going on? Are you sure you're doing okay, Kovu? You're worrying us." She asked him. "You seem distracted."

"Is it that obvious?" he asked, sounding disheartened.

"It's obvious that there is something bothering you. Kiara said you didn't seem yourself and I can see what she means. You're not normally so... absent." She said. Her eyes were fixed on him but they were filled with concern, rather than judgement.

"I'm okay." Kovu assured her. "I'm still trying to wrap my head around things. That's all. Every now and then I have to... Just get out and about."

"Why is it only whenever Kula is about?" Nala asked him. Kovu flushed, his ears flicking for a moment.

"Nothing gets past you, does it Your Majesty?" He asked her. Nala sighed, looking at him with sympathy. He only ever called her by title when he was avoiding something. Or when he was in a mood. Or both.

"Kovu." She said disapprovingly.

"I'm sorry."

"Are you trying to avoid her and her family?"

"Now why would I do something like that?" He asked her, with biting sarcasm. She didn't look offended. She looked at him with pity.

"It was stupid to ask, wasn't it? Of course it was. I'm sorry. I can't imagine what it's like. To say it must be awkward doesn't begin to describe it." Kovu didn't meet her eye.

"Kiara would think I'm being foolish. We are One, she says. It's over. Scar and Zira are dead and gone, it shouldn't matter."

"Of course it matters. How you feel matters." Nala said gently.

"It's not about me or how I feel!" Kovu protested. "But I do find it hard to be near her. As for Babu and Boga... That's like living a nightmare. I don't know how she can bear to look at me. How any of them can. I don't want to make it harder for her. I never thought about it before, not until Mother died and things began to settle down but..." Kovu admitted. Nala nodded sympathetically.

"You're trying to be kind to her?" Nala asked him. Kovu nodded mutely.

"She must hate me. She has every reason to." He said. Nala sighed. He wasn't wrong. She definitely had a reason. There were plenty of Pridelanders who remained resentful of the Outsiders. Kula didn't seem to be one, but when it came to Kovu… He was a special case, thanks to his parentage.

"Kovu, you can't make up for all the crimes your mother committed, nor repay all the people she hurt when she was alive. I know Zira is the reason Kula's cubs have grown up without their father, but that's not your burden to carry. It's not anyone's." Nala told him, crossly. "If you start trying to cut yourself off from everyone Zira wronged, you'll end up a very lonely lion. Start including Scar's victims too and you'll be no better than a rogue for all the friends you have around here." She reminded him.

Kovu sighed. "It's different with her." He insisted.

Nala paused. Then nodded. "I suppose it is. But Boga and Babu aren't the only lions to grow up without their father. Yes, it would have been better if they had, but they are fine. They survived it. So did I. So did you. Maybe keeping your distance isn't the right call here? What Zira did and didn't do has nothing to do with you. Not anymore." Nala told him.

Kovu stood up and stretched. "I'm sorry too, your Majesty. I'm not sure I'm feeling up for continuing this. Another time?" he asked her. Without waiting for a response, he turned and left her, leaving Nala to press a paw into her face. She knew she had said the wrong thing.

"Absolutely not." Vitani said as she frowned at her brother with intense disapproval. Kovu had sought out his sister and almost immediately began to wish he hadn't. "Nala is dead wrong." She continued. "I don't know what she thinks she's talking about. You're already doing exactly the right thing by staying as far away from Chumvi's family as possible."

The two were some distance away from where Vitani's Lion Guard was training. Shabaha was practising with Imara, and Kasi and Tazama were also grappling together. Their training was more public and more volatile than Kion's Lion Guard ever was. They were an impressive sight, Kovu had to admit. Inspiring to see. Unfortunately it was so impressive and inspiring that their collective ego meant that they also felt rather strongly that everyone should be able to see it, should they need to. To be reassured that the Lion Guard was no less effective since Vitani and her lionesses had taken over from Kion and his eclectic team. Their vanity had its advantages though. It meant it was rarely difficult to track his sister down. He just needed to follow the sounds of arduous training. He wasn't looking at the Guard now though. He only had eyes for Vitani.

"Nala thinks what my mother did and didn't do is nothing to do with me. But it feels wrong to me. Do you agree? That is it a horrible idea? I should keep well away?" he asked. Vitani nodded.

"Of course. Frankly we're lucky Kula hasn't tried to claw your head off. Honestly, I'm surprised she hasn't been causing more trouble given the circumstances. She's a better lioness than I am. Of course you avoiding each other is for the best." She said, nodding.

"I want to think Nala is right, but every one of my instincts tells me she isn't. Do you think Kula would blame us? Blame me, I mean, for what happened with our Mother?"

"I would. Wouldn't you? After what Zira did to her mate, it's hard to imagine her being cordial. You don't want to put her through that, and neither would I. I don't remember Chumvi very well, I was only young, but he was a kind and decent lion. What Zira did was utterly unforgivable. I don't know what that makes us, but I'm not expecting them to be happy with us anytime soon. Don't tell me you do?" Vitani said.

"No. I thought the same." He said, glumly. Vitani stared at him. She sighed.

"Little bro." She said, Kovu smiled softly. She hardly ever called him that. "I'm just looking out for you. I know it sucks, but you know that Tama has never forgiven me; what happened to Kula's mate was ten times worse than that. You can't open up those old wounds. The past is the past. There's nothing we can do about it."

"Tamika though -"

"Tamika does her own thing. She always has. You can't base anything on what Tamika does." She said tartly. Tamika tended to be sunny and optimistic, sometimes to a fault. It was dangerous to imagine she could be taken as standard.

"Yeah." Kovu sighed. He looked unhappy, but he agreed with her conclusions.

Vitani looked him over. She glanced over her shoulders to make sure that the other members of the guard were occupied, before inching closer to her brother. Looking at him up and down she saw just miserable and agitated he looked. Most of the former Outsiders had started putting on weight, and building muscle since returning to the Pridelands. Kovu was the only one who looked gaunt.

"You look terrible." She said. "You're starting to resemble Nuka." Kovu rolled his eyes.

"I've not been getting much sleep, that's all." He said.

"This has been weighing on you, hasn't it?" She asked him quietly. Kovu didn't immediately reply. "Nala was right about one thing. The list of people that Zira hurt doesn't end with them, little bro. Throw a stone and you'll hit someone she or Scar hurt. The pain she inflicted on everyone here, the Pridelanders, our Pride. Simba and Kiara. You and Me. You'll never stop counting." She told him. She was speaking from experience there. "I've wrestled with that too bro, and you know what I decided? If she was here, now, alive and breathing. If she had taken Kiara's paw, changed her ways, devoted herself to undoing the damage she did, she could never ever make up for it. What makes you think we could? Let them be, Kovu. They've hurt enough. And yeah that sucks for us, but we can take it."

Kovu sighed. Then nodded in agreement. "You're right." He said. "Nothing we can do about it."

"I didn't say that. There is something. I'll lead the best Lion Guard there has ever been and you'll be the best Prince to Kiara. It won't undo what Zira did or the pain she inflicted, but it'll soften the blow. Speaking of which, we really need to get back to our training." She said, Kovu gave a weary sigh and nodded.

"When did you get to be so wise?" He asked her. Vitani sniggered.

"Meh. I had you as a baby brother, and Nuka as an elder brother. I've always been wise." She snarked.

"That's true." He said, and departed, brooding. She was right. She usually was, most of the time, but this time she was definitely right. Their mother had been Scar's queen, and the things she had done to dozens of their Pridemates, they lingered. The thing about scars was that they left lasting damage that didn't heal properly no matter what you did, but the less you agitated them, the better it would heal and the less malformed the injury would eventually be. The same was true for her, he suspected. He and Kiara had persuaded the Outsiders and the Pridelanders to set aside their differences and move on from the past. He wished it was as simple as that.

Kovu's mood was improved when he returned to Pride Rock. A sense of calm and acceptance was on him. Vitani was right: she usually was.

"Kovu." He had to resist rolling his eyes when he heard his name being called. He had already made up his mind, but he wasn't looking forward to another lecture from Simba's mate.

"Nala, I'm really sorry, but I- oh!". It wasn't Nala. It was Sarabi. Simba's mother. She was one of the eldest lions about Pride Rock these days. Instead of Nala's sea green-blue eyes, he was stared at by a pair of blazing sunset orange. There was a lot of Simba in the fiery gaze. He gulped nervously. Sarabi was one of the eldest lions on Pride Rock and a veteran of both the Pride's division and Scar's tyranny.

"Sarabi!" He said, as the Queen-Mother approached.

"Kovu." She greeted him. She looked him up and down, considering. Evaluating him. Kovu had the strangest notion she was taking his measure. "Do you think we can have a quiet word, my boy?" She asked him. Kovu could only mutely nod his head, and reflect on how much of Simba there was in the formidable lioness standing before him.

"So if I understand this right, you're resolved to spend your whole life pretending to be invisible to each other?" She asked him, indignantly. It was already apparent what she thought of the idea.

"Sarabi-"

"I'm not finished, boy."

"Sorry ma'am."

She shook her head. "Simba and Nala tell me you're smart when you want to be. But the way you've been acting, there may as well be nothing between your ears except empty space." She said, frowning.

"It's for the best. My family has already done enough to her and to her children. It's better for everyone if I just keep my distance." Kovu said, hurriedly.

"Don't you think she has the right to make that decision? Have you even spoken to Kula since the Prides reunited?" Sarabi asked, eyebrows arched.

"What decision is there to make?" He asked her. "What do you expect me to say? Just stroll up to her and her children, introduce myself and say 'Hi, I'm Zira's son! By the way, terribly sorry for what happened to your mate?' It's not that simple." He asked her, glibly.

"Chumvi joined Tojo in exile from this Kingdom because of Zira." Sarabi conceded. "But that exile was lifted when my Son returned. Years ago. Back when you were still a cub. Only Chumvi can say why he has not returned to his wife and cubs." Sarabi reminded him.

Kovu growled. "Why? Probably because he's dead by now, like the rest of the people she wronged. Killed somewhere in the wilds. He wouldn't be the first!"

"No. He wouldn't be." Sarabi conceded. Exile from the Pridelands could be a mercy if they made it fertile lands. But travel throughout the Serengeti was treacherous. It was not for mercy that Scar had been fond of exile as a punishment. "But if that was his fate, then it was not at Zira's paw. Or Scar's." Sarabi told him. "Do not put the weight of his death on yourself, my boy. I can see you carry enough guilt and shame as it is. In that respect you're very like my Simba." She told him. "Struggling for so long with a shame that was never yours to carry. Let me tell you something I wish I could have been there to tell him." Her stony expression was fading now, leaving an old, pitious expression. "What happened wasn't your fault."

"Don't compare me to Simba. He was fed a lie. Kula will never see me as anything other than the reason her mate is dead and gone. Why would she when it's the truth? To her, I'm just Scar's heir. Maybe with Kiara I can be something else, but not to her."

Sarabi recoiled at his words as if they stung. How like a cub. It had broken her heart the first time she had heard a cub talk like that, and to hear Kovu say the same wounded her deeply.

"Nothing about you and your family is simple, my child." Sarabi muttered, very quietly. "I've never denied that." She changed track. "Did your mother ever tell you why Scar wanted an heir so badly? Why it mattered so much that she be the one to provide him with one?" She asked him.

"Yes." Kovu told her. "To carry on his legacy." She nodded.

"Lineage mattered an awful lot to Taka. The Spirit World held little interest for him: he measured the weight of his life by the mark he left on the world that he could leave behind."

"He certainly managed that."

"Zira thought herself his Queen, and attached herself at the hip to him. When he asked for an heir, she promised him one, but when Nuka was born and he saw the state of that poor cub, he was disgusted. Worse, she cast her aside. Pronounced him to be illegitimate and declared that she had betrayed him and birthed a cub sired by a wandering rogue. Such things were always a sore point to him. He didn't exactly resemble his family, either." Sarabi muttered. For a moment her eyes glazed over with remembrance. "Unfortunately for your mother, he started looking for other... candidates." Sarabi told him. Kovu nodded.

That wasn't quite the way Zira had told it, but even as a cub he had never believed that there were quite as many amoral power hungry seductresses in the Pride as in the picture she had painted for him. He hadn't even known what a seductress was the first time she had told him that story.

"That included you, didn't it?" Kovu said, delicately.

"Yes." Sarabi said, shortly. "It did."

"Mother never liked that. When I got older I presumed you didn't have a choice in the matter but -"

"Presume nothing, my boy," Sarabi said sternly. "It is more complex than that. Taka had his eyes on others. Naanda. Sarafina. Young Nala even. Anyone who he thought might have strong genes. So I made the only logical choice and volunteered myself. I had my reasons." She said.

"That doesn't sound like much of a choice to me." Kovu said, meeting her eyes. She didn't look away.

"Because you've never had to make it. But I don't need to explain myself to you. My point -" Sarabi pressed on. "Is that whilst Scar found himself distracted... But at the same time, Zira was seeing her future evaporate before her eyes. Before she was Scar's Queen. First among the lionesses. Quite an impressive feat for a distant wanderer from a far off land. So she came up with a scheme."

"A scheme involving Tojo. Tamika's Father."

"And Vitani's." Sarabi said. "With a young cub to feed in a time of famine and a wife to protect. I'm sure it seemed like a sensible trade. Tama has never forgiven herself for encouraging it. But plenty of Scar's inner circle got preferential treatment for themselves and their families, and I'm certain whatever Zira promised him, it made fathering Vitani seem like the tiniest of sacrifices. It certainly did to Tama, the foolish girl." Sarabi said with a shake of her head. "And it did to Tojo. Zira was thrilled. Scar had no problems with naming a girl his heir, believe me, no matter how some tell the story. He named Vitani himself, when she presented her to him. Scar had never left Zira's bedside even as he shamelessly sought the company and comfort of others, and she never turned him away. So he had no reason to suspect her treachery until Vitani opened her eyes."

"Blue." Kovu muttered.

"Or more accurately blue like Tojo's. And unlike his or Zira's." Sarabi said. "Clear as anything. I don't think Zira had felt fear like that before. Scar went into a black fury. He had her by the throat when she gasped out her apologies and excuses. Begging. Lying. Betraying. Pleading that she was loyal, that her heart belonged only to him. That Tojo had forced himself on her. It was impossible to believe, even if he didn't have a young cub and mate." She sighed. "Oh, that poor sweet boy with his funny coterie of bluebirds. You know, those bluebirds were the only reason he managed to get away in time when the hyenas came for him, the only reason Scar couldn't have him killed."

Kovu closed his eyes. He could imagine it. Scar's black rage. Zira's lying tongue. Tojo had been exiled from his home as surely as Simba had been. He had never returned. "Tama still blames Vitani. Tamika always had to sneak off to even see her as a cub. She still does now, even as an adult."

"Tama blames herself." Sarabi corrected him. "As well she should if blame should fall on anyone other than Zira and Scar. No, she doesn't blame Vitani, she punishes her." Sarabi said, disapprovingly. They had warned her that Zira could not be trusted. "Tama found herself without a mate. Tamika found herself without a father. So did Vitani for that matter; not that that was any concern of hers. And Zira found herself once more without a legitimate heir, and the very real chance that Scar might tire of her and her sycophancy." Sarabi declared.

"So then she turned to Chumvi." Kovu said with a sigh.

"Indeed. It was quite a disturbing spectacle. Zira always had an overinflated sense of her own attractiveness so she actually tried to seduce him first, making what she was pleased to call advances on him. Poor boy. Zira was cunning and she learned from her mistakes. Chumvi had the same colour eyes as she did, so there could be no repeat of what happened with Vitani. It worked out better than she hoped. It turned out that Tojo's mother and sister both had green eyes. Eyes that very closely resembled Scar's."

"Okay, I think that's enough. ." Kovu said.

"Chumvi didn't even realise that was what she was doing at first. Zira was out of practice and he was young and naive and had only ever been with Kula: they'd been sweethearts since cubhood. Zira was always deluded even back then and thought herself an exotic beauty from distant Viridian lands. But once Chumvi realised what she was doing he was rightly terrified."

"Please stop."

"And not just because we'd all seen what had happened to Tojo. The sight of Zira on the hunt was disturbing. Not that anyone could do anything about it. What were we to do, complain to Scar? Was he to fight her off? The poor boy started hiding from her but she always managed to sniff him out. She was shameless, so long as Scar himself wasn't present. He told her he wouldn't have her, but she was undaunted. Finally she cornered him in the gorge. I don't know whether she secured his compliance by threatening his pregnant mate, or if she didn't even bother with words and just used her claws. But when she'd finished with him, when she had taken what she wanted from him she just left him there, bleeding in the ground for the rest of us to find." She said.

"I said stop. That's horrible."

"He was broken by it. By what happened. He felt so... ashamed. Guilty. He felt like he was the one who had done something unforgivable. That he had betrayed Kula and her unborn child. He couldn't face it. He didn't wait for you to be born. He ran away."

"And then I was born!" Kovu growled. Pain, genuine raw pain leaking into his voice. "I know that, Sarabi! I know! I haven't forgotten! Nuka always knew. Vitani knew. Tamika knew! They told me. I'm fairly sure everyone in this Pride knows what she did! I'm willing to bet even Scar knew! Deep down." He said. "After all, Chumvi left didn't he? Scar didn't even need to exile him. He ran and was never seen again. Leaving Kula alone and Boga and Baby fatherless. Before they were even born."

Kovu's eyes were wide, angry and his voice cracked.

"When did they tell you?" She asked him quietly. Kovu sighed. He took another deep breath. Then he spoke.

"I was only a cub. Nuka was angry about something. I don't know what. He had a list. Said that there was nothing of Scar in either of us, that Mother should have been giving him special treatment since he was Scar's actual son. Mother nearly killed him for that and he never said it again. That's how I knew it was true. That Scar wasn't my father. It was Chumvi. A lion I have never met." Kovu muttered.

"Would you have preferred it if you were Scar's child?" Sarabi challenged him.

"Who would want that?!" Kovu snarled. "Scar's child or Zira's. It makes no difference. It doesn't change how Kula has to see me."

"Who indeed…?" Sarabi muttered. "What if she doesn't see you that way? What if she sees you as Chumvi's other Son?"

"Seriously?" Kovu asked her. "What, she sees me as the step-son she never had? That's not how life works. I'd be lucky if she doesn't spit on my meat." He said. "The best I could hope for is that she represses whatever hurt she feels whenever I show my face out of a courtesy I don't deserve and we all pretend we aren't miserable." He said sourly. "Which is why its better if I just keep my distance like I said."

"Didn't you listen to a word of what I just said?" She asked him.

"I listened! I know perfectly well what happened. I'm not quite sure why you felt the need to remind me." He snapped.

"I'm reminding you because I want to make sure we are on the same leaf." Sarabi said. "That we all agree on the order of events and who did what to who. I wouldn't want you to be confused."

"Why?" Kovu asked her.

"Because I want you to tell me where, in that sorry, tragic, bitter business you did anything wrong." She challenged him. Kovu opened his mouth. Then he closed it.

"It's..."

"What did you do wrong, Kovu? That's what I'm trying to get through to you. It wasn't your fault. How can anyone think to blame you? Yes, you're the heir of the Scar, the one everyone thought would carry on Scar and Zira's legacy. That'll scare people, especially people like those two preening airheads who dote on my Granddaughter that she unaccountably finds pleasant company despite the fact that they have two thirds of a brain between the pair of them. And yes, the circumstances of your birth hurt... lots of people at the time too. Some of whom were very dear to me. More dear than you know…" Sarabi conceded, stopping herself short. "But no one can hold you responsible for that. You weren't even there yet. You don't even know if Kula feels that way about you or not." She said,

Kovu exhaled. "I feel dirty." He said eventually. "Just being near her. She makes me feel like I shouldn't exist. Most of the time I can forget. Pretend. It's nobody else. Vitani doesn't feel that way around Tama, she doesn't care even what she thinks of her but with Kula..." He trailed off. "It isn't about me and how I feel. It's about them."

"Oh... You poor boy," Sarabi said. "I am tired of children thinking their parent's sins are theirs to bear. You aren't dirty or wrong or a blight sent to plague Kula's family. You're just not. You're Kiara's mate, and whether anyone likes it or not, the Prince of the Pridelands. Your responsibilities include making Kiara's life joyous and that's it. No voice that thinks they can say otherwise is worth arguing with. Even the voices nobody else hears." She told him, shaking her head. Kovu stared at her. Nobody had even spoken to him like that before. Zira's words of reassurance tended to a convergent theme of cutting throats and no lioness in the outlands had been fearless enough to cross Zira by being too familiar with her chosen one.

"I…" He didn't know what to say. "Okay." He eventually said.

Sarabi stared at him for a few more uncomfortable moments, and nodded, satisfied that the message had been received. "Good." She said. "Now. Here is what you are going to do, Kovu." She said, "You're going to reassure my granddaughter after making her worry. You're going to get some sleep. Proper sleep. Then tomorrow morning, you're going to introduce yourself to Kula. And to Boga and Babu."

"Yes ma'am." Kovu said automatically. He paused. "Then what?" he asked her. She shrugged.

"Oh, who knows? The lot of you might hate each other. You might find Babu a pretentious fool, Boga a prejudiced cretin. You might think of Kula, an empty-headed glutton and braggart. Spirits know I did for many years. Kula might decide you're a brooding, sulking boy who sucks the joy out of every den you walk into. Plenty of families dislike each other, and plenty more step on each other's paws and drive each other to resentment. My Mufasa is proof of that. But if you do resent each other, it'll be because you made your own minds about each other based on each other's merits because of the people you are. The person you are. Not because of anything Zira did. Certainly not because of something that happened before you were born. And whether you go forward as family, friends, cheerful acquaintances or bitter enemies, it'll be on you. And no more hiding. What will be, will be." She told him. Kovu stared at her. His stomach twisted in knots at the thought of it, but there was no arguing with her expression.

"I… Okay." He said again.

Kovu was nervous. In fact he was pacing on the spot so much that Kiara thought he was going to wear a groove into the earth. She had been trying in vain to reassure him for some time now.

"This was a big mistake." He muttered. Once, in his youth, he and Vitani had stumbled into the middle of a group of warring hyenas, and narrowly escaped being made a meal of in the confusion. He and Vitani had sworn each other to secrecy, as their mother would have surely punished them severely over the ordeal. That, he reflected to himself, would be preferable to his present situation. Starving hyenas were a problem to be sure, but you knew where you stood with a starving hyena, especially when you and your constituent limbs happened to be made of meat.

"No it isn't." Kiara assured him, humming softly and trying to calm him. She knew the full story now and her heart ached for her beloved. She wasn't going anywhere.

"It is. There's still time. We can call the whole thing off. Better yet, if we head off now, we can make it to the Mountain Pride before the rain season. Or even the Night Pride. Kion said we were always welcome. We could take him up on it. I could pass for a Night Prider in the dark." He muttered.

"Kovu, you're being silly." She said, Kovu swallowed again. He had no saliva. His heart was racing until Kiara put her paw on his. "Come on." She said,

They'd agreed dawn, and dawn was fast approaching now. Away from the others, and Zazu's gossiping beak. He could make them out. Sarabi, and the three others who Kovu had come to dread. Kula and her son and daughter. They were built like Kovu, with similar coats, and Babu had an eerily similar mane, though they were subtly different shades. There were differences though. Kovu was thinner for a start, but how much of that was Zira's bloodline and how much was simply the result of growing up in the Outlands, he really couldn't say. Babu looked like his mother, with brown fur and dark eyes. Strikingly, Boga favoured her father, with a darker coat that matched Kovu's. The touch of Zira's lineage marked Kovu apart from his half-siblings, but there was an unmistakable resemblance there. A familiarity. A connecting thread. Kiara had never seen it quite so apparent before - she had never had reason to look - but now she did it was unmistakable.

"Your Highness." Kula greeted Kiara, and the twins nodded in quick succession with respect to her. Niceties out of the way, she turned to Kovu and Kiara held her breath. The air was tense.

"Prince Kovu." She said, His name sounded funny on her lips. Kovu's own lips were dry and his voice nearly cracked as he spoke.

"H... Hello." He said. She smiled at him. It was a sad smile. A soft, sad smile. But a smile was a smile. He couldn't believe it.

"Hello." She said, "It's about time we finally meet properly." She said, She motioned to her son and daughter. "These are Babu and Boga."

The twins looked as awkward as he felt. Boga gave him a shy smile, and Babu made something that looked like an awkward grimace.

Sarabi glanced between them, looking cheerful.

"I suppose I should start by saying congratulations." Kula said. "On yours and Princess Kiara's nuptials. And for bringing our Pride back together. I am glad that you are all back among friends. That you found your way home. Back to the Pridelands. No one should be made to live like that."

"It... it wasn't as bad as it could have been." Kovu said, after a moment of awkward silence. "We learnt to survive out there, in the wilds. There are ways to make it bearable."

"Really?" It was Boga. "The Outlands are treacherous enough as it is. It wouldn't have been easy, even without Zira lurking there." She said, There was another awkward pause.

"Boga is a pathfinder; finding her way through horrible terrain is kinda her entire deal." The young male said evenly. "Usually that means finding her way through the mountains, but sometimes that meant heading into the Outlands too. She always hated it. Said it was impossible to get clean."

"It was the parasites." Boga admitted, shuddering. Kovu nodded.

"Dust bathing. The birds do it. It's the only way to be rid of them. You'll smell of the Outlands for days, but it's better than being stuck with termites. Believe me." Kovu said. His agitation was fading.

Kiara smiled and listened. They kept talking. Boga's smile was wider now.

Vitani kept watch silently, and scowled. It was her native expression, but this time she was actually annoyed. The lion next to her was starting to pick up on it.

"What's the problem, sis?" Nuka asked her. The spirit was translucent. Faded almost. She could see Pride Rock through him, on the horizon as she growled.

"Why do people ask for my advice if they're just going to ignore everything I say?" She asked him.

"Aren't you glad to be wrong?" Nuka asked her, eyebrows arched. "I mean... you thought Kula would hate Kovu's guts. Or at best, that they'd make each other's lives miserable. I don't think they're ever going to be best pals or anything, there's way too much awkwardness there. But at least they can stand to be in the same den as each other without locking up. That's something isn't it?" he asked her.

Vitani never quite got used to the way Nuka spoke now. Beyond the veil and perceptible only to her eyes as leader or the Lion Guard, Nuka's clarity of mind had been restored. Albeit potentially at the cost of her own. Kion had Mufasa as a spiritual advisor. She had been surprised beyond measure to learn that Nuka had been hers.

"I guess." She said, "I suppose given how Tama is... I really expected Kula to despise Kovu. The way Tama despises me. I'm... glad... she doesn't."

"There is a but there doing some awfully heavy lifting Tani." Nuka said.

Vitani glared at him. "But... There is a part of me that hopes he doesn't get too fond of his new family. Or forget where he comes from."

"You almost sound jealous, Tani. They were always his family sis. Even if he's only just meeting them." Nuka said. Vitani ground her teeth.

"I know." She said. "I guess... It's another reminder I guess. You and Kovu are all the family I need. We are brother and sister. I don't like thinking of you guys as being half anything. Tamika is great but it's not the same. If they're his half-siblings, what does that make me?" She asked him. She turned to look at him. There was a steely expression on his face. "Nuka?" she asked. He looked at her.

"There's nothing less about siblings you only share one parent with." He said harshly. "Believe me."

"I know. That's my point." She said, but Nuka continued to stare at her for a moment before sighing.

"Let the termite have this, Tani. He needs it. You and I don't care what anyone else thinks of us, but Kovu is a different story. You were always going to have to share with Kiara now anyway. Might as well get used to it. He might have a shot with some family who aren't crazy to at least be cordial with, if nothing else. Besides, you're hardly one to talk to are you?" Vitani blinked and looked at him. But he had already faded away and gone. Not that anyone else would have been able to see him. Maybe not even Kovu. She sniffed. She didn't see what the big attraction was.

"Mom always said that talking to yourself is a sign of madness." A voice said. Vitani glanced away and looked at a familiar set of blue eyes. Tamika.

Vitani thought that Kovu had a closer look to Babu and Boga that she and Tamika did.

"I bet she does." Vitani said. "Is that your medical opinion?" Tamika spent most of her time in the medicine cave, taking care of injured lions and lionesses. She'd grown quite good at diagnosing other forms of problems too.

"I think it all depends on what the voices are saying. In my experience, talking to oneself is sometimes the only way to have an intelligent conversation." Tamika said shortly. She looked over at Kovu and at Kula's family. Her eyes widened for a moment, realisation and understanding moving through her. "Are they going to be okay, do you think?" she asked.

"Yeah. Eventually." Vitani said.

"Good. Siblings shouldn't be kept apart." She said emphatically.

"Tamika..."

"Ah! We had a deal. You're not on duty with the Guard. Just spying on your brother." She was smiling at her. Grinning really. With a teasing smile that seemed to take up slightly too much of her face. "So what's your excuse this time?"

"Can't I just say I don't feel like it?"

"Please...?" She wheedled. Vitani groaned. Tamika was difficult to resist.

"Fine..." She muttered.

"Yay! Ahem. I mean all right." She said, Vitani rolled her eyes at the infantile display.

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" she asked her. Tamika bristled.

"I'm not my mother. If I want to spend the day hunting with my sister then I can and she can't stop me." She said, She paused at seeing Vitani had frozen. "Oh." She said, "Sorry. Was that too far, did that feel weird to you? I didn't mean... is that okay?" She asked her. Vitani winced. Her brother's words rang in her ears.

"No no. It's fine." She said,

"No it's not. I saw you react. I'm sorry. You thought it was weird. I'm sorry, Vitani. I didn't mean to..."

"I said it was fine." Vitani said. She glanced over to where Kovu was sitting with Kiara and Sarabi and the others. She exhaled for a moment. "But... maybe give hunting a miss for now. How about we just talk instead?" She asked her.

"Okay. Sure. What do you want to talk about?" Tamika was always so jovial. So eager to please.

"Why don't you tell me about Tojo again? Before... before Zira." She eventually said. "I'm… curious."

"About Dad?" Her expression softened. "Sure." Tamika said. Vitani chastised herself, at least within her own thoughts. Ignoring her own advice. But the temptation was too great. She sat down, paws folded, and listened to the excitable lioness talk about their father again.

AN:

Haradion:

Well there you have it folks. What a good start to the New Year. I do hope people enjoyed that. A classic dose of Haradion melodrama, with characters and events canon to Firefly's Universe. If you came here from Firefly's stuff, and you enjoyed my style, you might enjoy the rest of my work, and if you're reading the world of Kopa's Legacy for the first time, and want to see more from this universe, please check out Firefly on my Favourite Authors. And if you got an alert and were hoping for Book IV of Legacies, I have good news too: Books IV and V are well on their way and are on schedule for release later this year. You can hold me to that! Promise!