The Lion King: Dawn Of The Nations
Episode 5: Contrast
Kovu and his children entered a rocky, humid and cold cavern that was adorned with large spots of moss. Thick grass came from cracks on the ground. The place was lighted by an unknown species of fireflies, the blue light they irradiated illuminated the cavern dimly. Kovu smiled as he always did when walking through that peaceful path, his children had looks of fascination, their eyes were widely open, studying each corner of the cave while walking calmly, getting delight from the insects' lights, amazed with a green they had never seen before in their young lives. "Dad…" Keru said. "This place is amazing." The echo of the cavern was enough to let the cub's soft voice be heard by his father.
Kovu chuckled a bit. "And this is just the entrance, son." He looked over his back and glared at his two cubs. "Wait until you see the real deal."
Keru and Zale looked into their widened eyes. "The real deal!" They both expressed, mumbling, yet with excitement.
After a few more steps over the cold rocky ground, a light began to show from the aperture that was still a couple more minutes ahead of them. "We're almost there, sons." Kovu said, his sons' faces showed happiness and amazement, triggered by the intensity of the white, dazzling light.
The plants, rocks, walls and vines started to reveal to the three lions, until the light merged with the landscape, they had finally arrived at the Ungari Waterfalls, an internal oasis on the mountain's inside, the sunlight entering through a skylight, located several meters above the pool that was permanently fed by the four waterfalls, which flowed rapidly from each corner of the place. A set of vegetation covered tunnels with natural windows and paths that led directly to the waterfalls' hard rocks were all around the place. Inner, rocky hills were connected to these tunnels and went down all the way to the pool.
Zale let out a brief laugh of bliss, a tear traveled over the fur of his face, Keru had the same glance of peace and joy. "It's…very beautiful." Zale expressed with a lump in his throat.
Kovu wasn't admiring the scene before them, he was looking at his offspring instead, smiling and enjoying their reactions, priceless, richly valuable for him. Keru approached him and placed his paws on his then looked at him. "Can we explore, daddy?"
Kovu laughed. "Of course you can, Keru. This is all yours." He stroked him with his forehead. "Go."
"Come on, Zale!" Keru looked at his brother and started to run towards the first tunnel he spotted. "I dare you to a race!" His voice echoed harmonically with the place's inside.
"Hey! Wait 'till I..!" Zale went after him, following him quickly. "Keru, that's not fair!" He entered the green tunnel, chasing his little brother.
Kovu let out a sigh of calmness, then he went down the pair of rocks that led to the brief path towards the tunnel his sons had entered then he also got inside. He looked at the plants on the tunnel's inner surface, the occasional vivid colored flowers that accompanied the ceiling's vegetation, he looked rightwards and glanced at the two waterfalls that could be seen from the natural window. Kovu kept walking through the large tunnel, glaring at all of its corners, he then hurried his steps to encounter with his sons again.
Zale approached Keru, they both laughed and ran over the narrow rocky path that was attached to the mountain, having exited the tunnel a while ago. Despite the race's rapidness, they were still careful with their turns and steps as the rocky paths they took weren't wide enough, their paws constantly slipped by the tiny rocks between the grass over the golden rock.
When Zale tried to pass by his brother, the space wasn't enough for them to stay over at the same time, so Keru fell down from the path and yelled all the way down towards the pool, he dived in the huge water body. Kovu had exited the tunnel, he was laying over a little cliff that faced the pool, he had seen the little incident but knew his son was alright and let out a brief laugh when Keru got his head out of the water, inhaling and floating with the help of his paws, which he moved repeatedly.
Zale laughed at his brother. "Oh, Keru! Are you okay?" He kept laughing.
"So funny, Zale! Get here right know if you are so…" Keru gasped when his brother decided to jump into the water, with his paws aiming at him. Zale purposely fell over his brother, sinking them both into the water. After a few seconds, they got their heads out of the water again. Zale and Keru breathed in and out a couple of times. Keru frowned at his brother while cleaning some water off his eyes with his paw. "Zale, you hit me!"
Zale laughed again. "Water fight!" He splashed some water at Keru by hitting the water with both of his paws.
"Zale!" Keru did the same with his paw, throwing water at his brother's face. Zale counter attacked, and so on. Keru's brief anger then turned back into a playful yet competitive joy.
Kovu smiled at what he was seeing, something he never experienced and would never have the chance to, a beautiful day of fun and games, his childhood was distant from those concepts.
"Fight! Kovu!" Scar yelled at the young cub, subdued by Laka, a bit older and stronger than him, pale golden furred, one of the strongest cubs of the Outlands, Scar had picked him to battle with Kovu, to test the abilities of his Chosen One.
Kovu was getting asphyxiated by the paws of Laka, who was pressing his throat tightly against the red ground. A circle of fire surrounded the two cubs. "I can see it, Chosen One, I'll be the successor!" He was hurting Kovu's neck with his claws.
Scar growled. "Fight! Kovu!" He insisted.
"Yes, Kovu…fight, fight little, miserable Kovu." Laka laughed at him with mockery, Kovu was choking and moving his front legs with desperation.
Laka looked into his dying eyes. "Oh, you're so funny. You really think you can h..." Without previous warning, Kovu gave him a blow right on the eye, scratching it permanently, Laka groaned intensely and backed away from Kovu, laying down while crying and covering his eye, rubbing it while gasping strongly.
Kovu took several deep breaths while standing up slowly, getting into his four paws. Scar smiled and roared beastly against the circle of fire, extinguishing the flames in a blink. He walked towards Kovu and chuckled with pride, stroking his head with his. "Well done, Kovu." He chuckled again and looked at Laka, who still suffered greatly. "Well done." His face turned to a straight one while he walked towards Laka
"S…sorry…my king." Laka sobbed, still rubbing his hurt eye.
"Such a disgrace." Scar lifted Laka's face with his paw, forcing him to look into his eyes. He glared at his damaged eye, bleeding and totally scratched. "Such a shame, Laka."
Laka sobbed. "I…I'm sorry." He repeated.
"No, Laka…" Scar scratched his other eye with his claws, making Laka to scream with pain and fall to the ground, laying there while covering his two eyes. "This had to happen."
Laka let out a fierce growl of pain. "Why?!" He lifted his head the best he could and opened his eyes slowly, noticing he was completely blind. "I can't see!" He looked back at Scar. "Why?!" He frowned at him, tears and blood came from his eyes.
Scar remained with a straight face. "Kovu is my Chosen One, Laka. Not you, not anyone, but him." He crouched and growled at him. "And no one can't stop him. I am the king of the Pride Lands, of the Outlands and everything beyond them." He glared at Kovu, who trembled and looked at them terrified. Scar looked back at Laka. "And Kovu will reign after I'm gone." He approached his back. "Not Laka." He chuckled. "Laka is no more than a memory!" Scar grasped Laka with his jaws and ran towards the cliff that was ahead.
"No, no! My king, please forgive me! Forgive me!" Laka cried out, knowing what Scar was about to do.
Kovu gasped and ran rapidly towards them, breathing in and out in coordination with the quick steps of his paws, wanting to reach Scar and Laka. Scar released Laka right when reaching the cliffside, Laka's scream was heard in every corner of the Outlands, then all that could be heard was silence. Kovu arrived and stopped running, getting right next to Scar, looking at him and the abyss below the cliff, with tears forming in the corners of his eyes. Scar glanced at the darkness of the Abyss for a long moment, then he turned and started to walk away from Kovu. "Rest, Kovu. You deserve it." He left Kovu alone, looking at the abyss, sad yet confused, still feeling victorious, but with a bitter mix of feelings inside him.
Kovu returned to the present, his cubs still played in the water. He found out it wasn't too late to live the life he should, so he ran towards the edge of the cliff and jumped into the water, falling next to his sons, splashing lots of water and getting his head out of it while shaking his mane to take out the excess of water, his cubs approached him and threw water at him then he laughed and dived a bit then when his sons where over his back he swam upwards and got half of his body out of the water, provoking the laughs of his children as he was now swimming with them laying over him, as if he was a trunk floating in a river.