Chapter 4: Reon, Kendi, and Ora

Tempest, Torrent, Drayden and Dayya finally arrived at the Pridelands after being summoned.

Drayden had ended up catching the zebra he had been chasing before Mani took off. They all shared it. They were just beginning to wonder where Mani was when the Prideland lioness showed up to bring them. They ate quickly and excitedly headed toward Pride Rock.

Kivu and Ciara were the first lions they saw. They stood in the clearing below Pride Rock waiting. Lots of other lionesses gathered too. Kiara and Kovu were there along with old Simba and Nala.

The first thing Tempest noticed was a cub standing at Kivu and Ciara's paws. Tempest gasped and ran up to them, "Oh, my goodness! Look at you two!" Tempest quickly hugged Ciara and bumped heads with Kivu. "You have a cub! Hello, there." She said with a smile.

"This is Kendi." Kivu said, then to the cub: "Tempest is kin. Are you going to say hello?"

"Um, hello." Kendi said. The cub was peach colored. A lot like her great-grandmother, Nala. Her eyes were brilliant red, just like Kivu's. Kendi's paws were a lighter peach, and she had dark brown fur inside her ears and around her eyes. Her tail tuft was bright red with a hint of brown, making it darker than her mother's bright hair. There was a hair with a peculiar curl that reminded Tempest of the curl in Kivu's mane. Kendi's nose was black and pointed like an outlander's.

"It's very good to meet you!" Tempest said with excitement. "You're really pretty."

Kendi flushed. "Me?" she put a paw on her chest. Then looked down at her paws with embarrassment.

Kivu chuckled and smiled at her.

"Modest isn't she?" Ciara grinned.

"She really is beautiful." Tempest said to the proud parents.

"Thank you." Ciara purred.

Dayya, Drayden and Torrent finally caught up.

"Kivu!" Dayya shrieked and practically tackled the broad shouldered lion.

"Woah! Hey, Dayya!"

"Same old Dayya." Ciara laughed and rolled her eyes.

"Kivu, you look great! You look broader than I remember. Not so lanky anymore, huh? And Ciara, how do you keep your fur so smooth? And your cub, oh Kings, she's adorable. You two make really cute babies!"

All Kivu and Ciara could do is chuckle. Poor Kendi went to hide behind her mother's front legs.

"Hello, again." Drayden said with a friendly smile from behind Dayya. The royals returned the greeting. Torrent was sitting beside Drayden looking off to the side, not paying attention.

"Torrent? Do you want to meet Kendi?" Tempest asked.

"I guess…" he hoisted himself to his paws with an added dramatic effort.

"I know that's what happens in a year, but wow, he's so big now!" Ciara said, then added to the cub, "The last time we saw you, you were just barely walking."

"This is Ciara and Kivu, they're the next royals in line to rule the Pridelands. Do you remember them?" Tempest asked her cub.

Torrent just shrugged. Tempest glared at him, which made his attitude change. "Maybe."

"It's great to see you again, Torrent." Kivu said. "You look really strong. I bet you're fast too."

Kivu apparently knew the right thing to say, because Torrent puffed out his chest in response, "Yeah I am!" Ciara and Dayya giggled, while Torrent went on, "My mom and dad are teaching me how to hunt already!" He boasted with his nose in the air.

A quiet voice came from Ciara's paws, "Woah, really?" Kendi stepped out into the open. "That's so cool! Um...I'm Kendi."

Torrent just smirked at the younger cub. He was already thinking of ways to try to impress her.

"I'm really happy the pride has new cubs," Tempest said. "Torrent really should be around other cubs near his age group."

"You'll be really happy to hear that there are other cubs!" Kivu said with a smile.

"Yes," Ciara added, "Jayden and Dark had a girl, so she is your kin too. And you won't believe it...or maybe you will, Tempest, but my brother and Tali had a boy!"

Tempest gasped, "I knew something would happen between those two! Took them long enough! They were even more emotionally constipated than you were back in the day, Ciara."

"Heh, yeah well, they're all sparks now. Their cub is nearly the same age as Kendi. Only a little younger." Ciara said.

"Can we go find them?" Dayya asked with excitement.

"Yes, let's." Ciara replied.

"I hear Mani is around here somewhere with Jai. I haven't seen him yet." Kivu said, then turned to Tempest, "Would it be alright for Torrent and Kendi to hang out here and get to know each other? We can send the other cubs here too once we find them."

"Yes, of course. That sounds nice." Tempest said, then lowered her head a little to Torrent's level. "We're going to look for our other friends. You and Kendi stay here."

Torrent made a grunt of complaint, "Ugh, why?"

"Oh, I didn't realize you wanted to come meet a buncha old lions with me. Alright, well come along then."

"Never mind, I'll stay."

"Good. Now remember to be nice to Kendi, she's your kin. And so are the other cubs you'll meet."

"Alright...!" Torrent rolled his eyes.

"Go on, Kendi." Ciara said gently to her daughter.

"Cubs, you stay in this area here right by Pride Rock's base. You can go under the rock too." Kivu said. "There's many lionesses around so one of them will see you if you stray too far." he warned.

"Yes, Dad."

Tempest gave Torrent a quick lick on the cheek before leaving with her friends. Kendi giggled at him. He glared at her in response.

"Oop-sorry." she covered her mouth with her paw.

The adults were trotting away now. Torrent turned and started heading toward the underside of Priderock where it was always slightly darker because of the horizontal beam of Pride Rock.

"Where are you going?" Kendi asked, bounding after him.

"Where's it look like? I'm going to the dark place under the rock. I like it there."

"How come?"

Torrent scoffed, "It's cool down there. And my family always slept and hung out there when we were here a long time ago." It was one of the things that stuck in the cub's memory the most. He remembered feeling tranquil and safe in that place. He'd always sleep well in his mother's arms. Like a baby. Well I WAS a baby. Torrent thought, and rolled his eyes at himself.

Torrent and Kendi padded into the shaded area.

"It is nice under here." Kendi commented. "The rock shades us from the sun, huh? And it smells sweet. Like flowers."

That's my mom's scent! Torrent thought. And my grandma's. It's still here after a year?

Torrent held his head high, "Yup, it's a place for cool lions only. Basically just me and my Pride."

Kendi's eyebrow shot up. "It can be used by anyone."

"Pff, I guess. If I have to share it." Torrent said, flopping down on his belly in the clearing. Kendi just stared at him, her ears beginning to feel hot.

"It's not yours. Technically, it belongs to the Pridelanders. You don't even live here."

"Well, technically," Torrent used a mockery of her voice, "I don't care!"

Kendi's ears pinned back in anger. No one talked to her like that. "What's your problem? You're a guest here, you should be more polite."

"Aw, did I make you mad, princess?" Torrent sneered. "How cute, haha!"

Kendi growled at him but said no more. She simply turned her back side to him and sat facing the opposite direction. He snickered when she did this. He tried to provoke her into more banter, but she said nothing, and just moved farther away from him.

What is WRONG with him? He's being such a jerk for someone who is brand new here. He acts like he owns the place just because he's older and been here before. Technically, I own the place more than he does! Kendi's thoughts only made her angrier, and she wished she had said more during their argument, but she had already decided to just act like he didn't exist.

"Your ears are still red." Torrent teased after a few minutes. Kendi couldn't help let out a loud grunt of frustration.

A few quiet minutes later, another cub bounded into view.

"Reon!" Kendi said with delight, and ran up to greet him. "I'm glad you're here."

"Why, what's wrong?"

"It's the new guy..." the she-cub said, and both turned to look at him. Torrent was still laying in the same spot, same position, now with his head on his paws and eyes closed. "He's just a cub like us but he's acting like he's the boss."

"My mom said he was older." Reon said neutrally.

"Well, yes, he is...but not by that much! He sure is acting like a cub. He's been mean already and he hasn't been here twenty minutes!"

"Well, I'll go see what he's all about." The light brown cub headed under Pride Rock with Kendi at his heels. They stood next to Torrent. Kendi and Reon shared a look, not knowing whether to wake him or not.

Torrent's sudden voice made them jump, "I could hear everything you were saying, ya know." he said and popped his eyes open and rose his head.

"Good!" Kendi said hotly, narrowing her red eyes.

Reon got right to the point, "Why were you mean to Kendi?"

"Well, I uh..." the question caught Torrent off guard, and he paused for a moment. "I wasn't really being mean, I was only kidding." he said.

"It didn't seem like you were kidding." Kendi insisted.

"It's not a very good start to a friendship if you make someone mad right away." Reon said calmly. "Maybe if you apologize, we can just forget about it and start over."

Torrent scoffed. "No way. I didn't do anything. You cubs just need to chill out and learn how to take a joke."

"You're the one that needs to chill out!" Kendi shouted, "I can get my parents to kick you out!"

Torrent scoffed again, "No way, my grandma is the King's only sister. Do you really think I could be kicked out?"

Kendi opened her mouth to respond but quickly shut it. He did have a point.

"Well if we're stuck with you, you could at least be nice and try to make friends." Reon reasoned. "Your dad grew up here, right? My mom is your dad's sister. That means we're all family. Let's act like one."

"Maybe I would if you all weren't little kids, and acting like whiny brats!"

"STOP acting like you're an adult! You're not that much older!" Kendi growled, "You're not even a teenager yet, I don't see any mane on your chest!"

Reon snickered at that.

Torrent stuck his nose in the air, "Whatever, I'll have a mane soon. A lot sooner than you!" he glared at Reon. The younger cub glared back. A low growl started in Kendi's throat.

"Oh good." Torrent said with sarcasm, looking over Reon and Kendi's shoulders. "Another cub to join the effort."

The younger cubs turned their heads and saw a slightly taller cub headed their way. She was very dark gray in color, with an almost-black stripe down her back and ending on her forehead.

"Ora!" Kendi and Reon said in unison.

"The fun is here!" Ora said loudly as she leaped into the clearing. She grinned widely, her gray-purple eyes shining, then turned to Torrent, "Hello, newcomer, I'm Ora, and you are...?"

"Not a newcomer!" Torrent replied with an indignant tone. "I was here before you were even born."

Ora made a face as if she smelled something bad. "Ew..." she turned to face Reon and Kendi. "Is he always like this?"

"He's a big jerk!" Kendi said, "He's acting like the big boss around here just because he used to live here when he was a baby."

"I thought he lived here for a month." Reon said.

"Yes! Exactly, a month!"

"Now all three of you kids are gonna gang up on me?" Torrent scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"Hmm." Ora looked at him thoughtfully. "I think I know what to do."

Kendi and Reon shared a confused look. Reon shrugged.

Suddenly Ora dashed forward and leaped on Torrent, planting four hard paws on his back. "OOF!" Torrent was caught entirely by surprise and couldn't react before the dark-gray cub bounced nimbly off Torrent's back. She laughed hysterically.

After a brief moment of shock, Reon and Kendi joined in and laughed too. Ora re-joined her friend's sides, smiling triumphantly.

"Why you!" Torrent growled, jolted to his paws and took on a fierce fighting stance, but didn't move forward.

"Ora, you're the best!" Kendi said. "You've got some guts."

"We all have guts, Kendi, they're in our bellies. Now let's go, we don't have to stand here if we don't like someone." The dark gray cub rose her tail high and walked away.

"That's right!" Kendi said, and with a sassy strut, followed Ora, copying her high tail.

"Good! Go then!" Torrent shouted, still looking ruffled.

"We are!" Reon said, following the girls.

With one last look back, Kendi stuck her tongue out at Torrent, then they were gone. Torrent didn't' care though. This whole event had been seriously annoying. Those brats had no respect at all.

The large cub lay back down and put his head in his paws, grumbling to himself.

The other cubs didn't go far. They knew they were instructed to stay in that area, and they obeyed. They moved over where the stone steps that led up to the den began, but stood out of the way so they wouldn't be an obstacle for someone going up or down.

"Well, that was eventful." Kendi said. "My mother has been so excited for her friend's Pride to come visit so I could meet my cousin."

"And he turns out to be a jerk." Reon commented. Kendi nodded.

"Not that it's much of an excuse," Ora said while licking her paw, "But he didn't grow up with any other cubs. I don't think he knows how to be friendly."

"Well...maybe." Kendi admitted. "But, like you said, that's no excuse!" she stamped her paw dramatically.

"Why do we have to be related to that guy?" Reon said, flopping down in a sitting position with his back paw pads showing. "That means our moms and dads will force us to play with him all the time while he's here."

"And force us to give him another chance." Ora added with a tired sigh. "We have to be nice and try to get to know him.

"You're the one that jumped on him!" Kendi said.

Ora scoffed, like she didn't care.

"That was pretty funny." Reon snickered.

"Do you think he knows how to fight? Like wrestle?" Kendi wondered.

"I dunno, but he seemed pretty surprised when Ora bounced on him!" Reon replied.

Ora grinned widely, showing her teeth.

"At least he's only here for the coronation." Kendi said, sitting next to Reon.

"Are you excited for your parents to be King and Queen?" Reon asked.

"Yeah, of course! They're gonna be the best rulers ever."

"That means you'll be next in line!" Ora commented.

"That's too weird to think about." Kendi said, shaking her head. "I'm just a cub."

"You have much to learn, little princess." Ora said, putting one of her large dark paws on Kendi's head. The she-cub swatted it.

"Shut up. Don't be like Torrent and act like you're wayyyy older than us."

"My goodness," Ora said, pulling her paw to her chest as if she had been hurt. "Back in my day, cubs didn't just go around smacking their elders!"

Kendi laughed, and said again, "Shut up!"

"Both of you shut up." Reon said with a smile.

"You shut up!" Kendi said.

"No you!"

Soon, a shouting match ensued. The three cubs were yelling, "Shut up!" with increasing volume, until each of them were laughing so much they could hardly breathe.