Kiara had led her adoptive uncles to the south side of Pride Rock, her paws itching and fur bristled - she was eager to put her plan into action.
Timon scanned the open, lonely area of the Pridelands, narrowing his eyes and shading them from the sun.
"So this is the south side, huh?" he drawled, making a funky hand gesture. "I can see why no one's out here...there's no shade for miles around!"
"Yeah," Pumbaa panted, bringing up the rear. "Princess Kiara, aren't you warm under all that fur?"
"What, no, I'm f-" Kiara began, but stopped short as a large leaf was suddenly put over her head - held by Timon.
"Darling, with your complexion, you really should stay out of the sun," Timon simpered in agreement.
Kiara huffed and batted the leaf off of her. "I'm fine, Uncle Timon, really. Besides, didn't my dad say there was some kind of food you guys like out here?"
Timon and Pumbaa both stopped in their tracks, looking at each other. Then they looked at Kiara.
"You don't mean..." Timon sniffed the air, then let out a delighted squeal, skittering over to a nearby rock and flipping it over. Sure enough, there were all kinds of creepy crawlies underneath, the sight of which made Kiara's skin crawl under her pelt.
"Oh, rapture! Pumbaa, wouldja look at this treasure trove of delicacies?! GAH, I die~" Timon moaned, picking up a slimy, blue caterpillar and popping it in his mouth.
"EWWW!" Kiara gasped, cringing. "Gross!"
"Hey, don't knock it 'till ya try it, Princess," Timon grinned, holding a ruby-red beetle out to her - which promptly flew onto her muzzle. "See? He likes ya!"
"Ugh!" Kiara swatted at the beetle, which flew into Pumbaa's mouth. "You guys are so weird!"
"Kid, you have no idea," Timon scoffed, slurping up another caterpillar. "Pumbaa, you've got to try these - squishy with a crunchy filling. Who'da thought? What a stunning texture."
"Gee, I don't think so, Timon," Pumbaa replied, munching noisily. "Good old, classic crunchy shell with a slimy filling, though? That I can get behind."
Timon shook his head. "You have got to broaden your taste horizons, my corpulent compadre. See, what I do is..."
Kiara listened to them ramble on about the bugs they were eating, her fur bristling...then, she realized something. Her plan had worked almost too perfectly. She smirked, orange eyes gleaming mischievously, and sauntered off into the tall grass. Once again, she was all alone - and she intended to make the most of her time and try not to get caught.
-
The princess stalked carefully through the grass, on high alert and already paranoid - what if her parents were already looking for her? Putting the thought out of her mind, she emerged from the tall grass and looked around. Nearby was an abandoned waterhole that usually had almost nothing in it, but it had rained recently and there was a few feet left. She heard giggling and splashing, and froze rigid when she saw them - Outlanders!
Three of them, in fact, all of them cubs her age...and all of them savage and unfriendly-looking. Two ashy-gray lionesses were playing in the water and splashing each other, while a third, a golden-furred lioness with purple eyes, was grooming herself at the water's edge.
"C'mon Vitani!" one of the gray cubs laughed, coaxing the golden-furred lioness - who was really pretty, Kiara thought despite the fear she felt as she watched from her hiding place. "The water's fine!"
"Ugh." Vitani glared down at them, lashing her tail. "Would you guys cut it out, already? We're gonna get caught again-AAUGH!" she roared as a cavalcade of water splashed down on her. "Spotty!" she snarled, her fur bristling.
Spotty and Dotty laughed uproariously, both of them swimming over and pulling Vitani into the water with them. Kiara giggled behind her paw - they looked like normal cubs having fun. She almost wanted to come out and join them, but she knew that would only spell trouble.
"Get out of there."
The laughter of the Outsider cubs died down, and Kiara's heart skipped a beat - she'd recognize that voice anywhere.
A lithe, but muscular lion cub with a brown pelt and black tuft of fur on his head stalked out of the grass and stared down into the water, his back turned to Kiara's hiding spot. Kovu!
"Aw, how come, Kovu?" Dotty wheedled. "It's so hot, and we're just having fun."
"Yeah, you should lighten up and play with us~" Spotty cooed up at him.
"You can't have fun here," Kovu replied in a growl through gritted teeth - his voice had changed since Kiara had last seen him. It still sounded high-pitched and cublike, but there was a distinctive, snarling edge to it now, a subtle mark of the constant, painful training Zira had put him through. "This is the Pridelands, remember? We're here to take food and leave, so quit acting like cubs before you get us all killed."
He sauntered off, his green eyes glaring. Kiara felt weak in the knees, her heart racing. Part of her wanted to follow him, and part of her wanted to get as far away from them as possible...if they decided to fight her, she'd be outnumbered four to one.
"Well? You heard the future king," Vitani meowed, slipping gracefully out of the water and shaking herself off. "Let's get out of here, you guys."
Spotty and Dotty didn't move, still adamantly remaining in the water.
"Kovu's no fun," Dotty pouted. "He used to play with us all the time!"
Vitani shrugged. "Yeah, well, that was before our mother started making him train with her for hours every day. He's changed," she added, a sigh in her voice as she looked wistfully at Kovu's retreating form. So this was Kovu's sister...no wonder she was so pretty.
Kiara was about to turn tail and leave, but just then, a hot, heavy wind blew through the grass, revealing her hiding spot.
The princess's heart lurched as she and Vitani locked eyes.
"Grrr..." Vitani growled, baring her teeth and her fur standing on end. She was headed right towards Kiara...there was no going back now.
Kiara bared her own sharp little teeth, stalking towards Vitani and emerging from the grass.
As the lioness cubs started to circle each other, Spotty and Dotty slipped out of the water and fell into step behind Zira's daughter, flanking her like bodyguards and snapping their jaws at Kiara. The princess flinched, gasping, but tried to hold her ground and not turn her back.
Vitani let out a mocking laugh. "Look at you, tryna act tough," she sneered. "You're just a chubby, overfed little Pridelander...what are you gonna do against us?"
Kiara's ears flattened, hurt, but she tried to growl back as threateningly as she could - despite having much cuter, more kittenish features than the hardened Outsider cubs. "You don't belong here!" she shouted, though her voice trembled. "This is my father's territory!"
"Your f-" Vitani's violet eyes widened, then she threw back her head in a mocking laugh, Spotty and Dotty immediately following suit. Kiara narrowed her eyes - it seemed like these two were obsessed with Vitani and copying her every move.
"Oh, nooooo," Vitani drawled, smirking. "Your big, scary daddy's after us? What are we gonna do, girls?"
Spotty and Dotty giggled sinisterly, sounding like little hyenas.
"I know what we're gonna do," Vitani purred, giving Kiara a smug smile that made her stomach churn. "We're gonna take him on ourselves - because that's what we're trained to do." She leaned in, getting in Kiara's face. "And what are you trained to do, little princess? Sit still and be a good girl? Make dirt where you're supposed to?"
Spotty and Dotty laughed raucously, delighted by Vitani's bullying. Kiara's throat closed up, and she felt tears sting her eyes...but she wouldn't let Vitani see her cry. Not ever.
"What are you girls doing now?" Kovu groaned, emerging from the tall grass. Kiara whipped around when she heard his voice, and for the first time in what felt like too long, she locked eyes with the handsome Outsider prince.
"Kovu!"