Author's note: To address the reviews that were kindly left on some of the chapters I have written thus far: yes, I think Timon and Pumbaa are annoying, no, I am not shipping Kiara with her dad, and yes, Kovu is going to be a lot more edgy here. But hey, it's just fanfiction, and I'm putting my own spin on it. You don't have to like it.
Onward~
Kiara tripped and fell to the hot, cracked earth in a furry heap.
After taking a second to recuperate, she looked up...and saw another cub lying next to her!
Not just any cub, though.
An Outsider.
Kovu snapped into attack position almost immediately after getting back on his paws, snarling and rounding on her. "RRrrrRRrr!"
Kiara's heart lurched, and she stepped back anxiously from him, her fur standing on end.
Kovu advanced like a little tank on her, his teeth bared in a menacing snarl despite his kittenish appearance. "Who are you, Pridelander?"
Remember what Dad said about them, and you'll be fine, she told herself, facing the taller boy cub as he leaped around her, trying to catch her off guard. She bared her teeth, never once showing him her back.
Kovu frowned, finding this behavior strange. "What are you doing?"
"M-My father says to never turn your back on an Outsider!" Kiara shot back, her voice coming out nervous and high-pitched despite her show of bravado in front of the dangerous cub.
The darker lion cub smirked, his tail flicking. "Oh, yeah? You always do what Daddy says, huh?"
The princess's ears flattened. "No!"
"Heh. Betcha do. Bet you're 'Daddy's little girl', ha ha!" Kovu sneered, brushing roughly past Kiara, who looked at him reproachfully, her fur standing on end.
"Well, y-yeah, well, what do you know?" she retorted, putting a paw forward bravely despite how terrified she was. "You're just a cub, too! Your family probably has rules."
Kovu whipped around again, a wicked gleam in his eye, making Kiara gasp and shrink back again.
"An Outsider doesn't need anyone," Kovu replied, smirking as he advanced on her again. He circled her intimidatingly, imitating the way he'd seen his mother circle an unwitting hyena. "I take care of myself."
Kiara's ears perked up, intrigued. "Whoa, really? Cool!"
"Cool?" Kovu asked, pausing a tail-length away from her to lick his paw nonchalantly. "Yeah, I get that a lot." He slicked back his small, dark tuft of fur and flashed her with a cocky grin. "My name's Kovu!"
Whoa...Kiara blushed in spite of herself, a tiny smile curving her mouth. "I'm Kiara," she responded in a shy, soft voice.
Kovu looked her up and down, a scoff wrinkling his nose. "Kiara, huh? Well, Kiara, I'd go home if I were you," he said loftily, coming closer to size her up. "A soft, squishy little princess like you wouldn't last two seconds out here."
Kiara balked, her ears flattening and a heat rising under her pelt. "You're so mean!"
Kovu let out a derisive laugh again, nudging her and whipping his tail playfully. "Mean? Nah, I'm just telling it like it is, kid." His green eyes narrowed to slits. "Out here, lions aren't high and mighty like in the Pridelands...we fend for ourselves, and we take what we want."
He suddenly lunged playfully, snapping at Kiara and making her jerk back, letting out an "eep!" of fright.
The lion cub boy laughed at her, straightening up again and standing with his chest puffed out, looking her dead in the eye.
"And I'm the leader of our whole tribe."
