Note: Hey! FairyofLight21, thanks for the support! It's time to add some danger. I hope you're here for it.
Shadows of the Past
Vitani was going to kill him.
No, seriously. She was going to rip off his tail and make him eat it.
Where was he?!
Her paws pounded against the earth as she ran, weaving her way through the golden grass. Kiara was just ahead, the lionesses flanking her.
They'd been following Simba and Nala's scent for what felt like forever.
Scanning the land, Vitani could already tell.
They were headed to the Outlands.
The air changed the moment they crossed the border. Nala swallowed against the dryness in her throat.
The lush savanna of the Pride Lands faded into dry, cracked earth, where the sun bleached the bones of old carcasses, long picked clean by scavengers.
Now Kovu's scent was fresher. Closer.
The wind shifted, carrying more scents.
Nala stopped so suddenly that dust curled up around her paws.
Simba took another step before his ears swivelled back. He caught it too.
She turned to him, her eyes wide. "Simba."
He furrowed his eyebrows. "Who is it?"
Nala swallowed. "Rafani."
Simba's golden eyes darkened.
"She was the first to run when Scar fell," Nala said.
"I remember."
He exhaled through his nose. Dread sank at the pit of Nala's stomach.
"Simba, why is she here?"
Some of the lionesses who fled when Simba ended Scar's reign remained close by. Like Zira. Watching, waiting for Simba to make a mistake. As for the rest, Nala thought she'd never have to see them again.
"We shouldn't charge in," Simba said. "Let's wait for the others."
Nala shifted her weight, her body rigid.
He was right. They would not know what they would be walking into.
Then the air split open.
A roar.
A pain-filled, desperate roar.
Kovu.
Nala met Simba's eyes for half a second. No words were needed.
They ran fast.
Vitani's paws slammed against the ground while keeping pace with Kiara. Her patience was wearing dangerously thin.
"I'm just saying," Kiara panted between strides, "maybe he had a good reason to go off alone?"
Vitani snorted. "Yeah. Like being stupid."
Kiara shot her a look. "You're really mean when you're worried."
Vitani rolled her eyes.
Sniffing the air, her ears twitched.
Kovu's scent weaved with those of Kiara's parents until now. But here in the Outlands, she could smell more than that. These were...
Scents she hadn't smelled in years.
Her paws slowed.
Kiara noticed. "What?"
Vitani's tail flicked. "Nothing. Just..."
She remembered them.
These smells lingered in the edges of her childhood.
Another gust of wind brought a new fragrance. Blood.
Vitani stiffened.
Kiara did too. Their eyes met.
Someone was hurt.
The ground blurred beneath them. The wind howled past their ears. Dust rose up under their paws. And then, when Nala and Simba finally scaled the next hill, her breath caught in her throat.
Below them, in a clearing ringed with jagged rocks, Kovu was cornered. A ring of unfamiliar lions and lionesses, many of them, circled around him. Their teeth were bared.
Kovu stood his ground, but his breath came out fast, and his stance was uneven.
They were talking.
The wind whistled in Nala's ears, and she couldn't make out from this distance what was being said.
But one thing was clear.
He was hurt.
A quick glance in Simba's direction was enough to silently say yes.
The others might not be here yet, but there was no way they'd leave one of their own in need.
Simba roared.
The sound tore through the sky and the ground shook with a deafening echo.
The lions and lionesses turned, wide-eyed.
Nala snarled with her husband before they launched themselves forward.