Mercy

[Kopalover]

I started reading it when the, I think, third chapter came out. It's a very lovely story, and very original ideas. I like it!

[Carl]

Thanks again!
I'm glad you're enjoying it!

[Carl]

Chapter 7: The Past Can Hurt

It had been two days since the princesses and Sky had last been seen. Jongeni was worried, and he wasn't the only one. The King and Queen were distraught. The pride had organized a search early on the second day, but there had been no trace of the three. Prior to the search, everyone had assumed that the young lions had just run off and would be back soon, but when they hadn't returned, it had become worrisome. Something that struck Jongeni as a little odd was that on the morning they'd awoke to the trio's disappearance, Vitani had seemed... uneasy, and grumpier than usual. He wondered if she knew something. At this point, the others had stopped searching, as they had needed to eat and rest, but Jongeni was feeling sick at his stomach, and restless.

Even at this moment, he was pacing anxiously inside the cave on Pride Rock. Something must have happened. They wouldn't have all left without saying a word. This wasn't right. The princesses had known him all their lives, they were very close, so they would have told him if they were going somewhere; they would have told their parents. He turned, pacing towards the mouth of the den when he saw Vitani slinking off Pride Rock. He stopped his pacing and darted out of the den, running to catch up with her.

"You know something!" he accused as he came up beside the lioness. She growled under her breath and kept stalking forward.

"If I knew where my nieces were, I'd have told Kovu by now," she hissed, "Now stop bothering me so I can go after my son."

"They all three disappeared on the same night. It's likely the princesses and Sky are together. And you know something that could help us find them, so no, I won't stop bothering you until Kimitar and the others are back!" he insisted. The lioness didn't stop. She couldn't deny that Jongeni was strong; he'd spent the last few years training himself intensively. She doubted the young male was as strong as her brother, or as strong as Simba had been, he probably wasn't even as strong as she was, but maybe having some back up wouldn't be a bad idea. After all, she had no idea how strong Chukiza had become in the past few years.

"Alright, fine. I'll tell you what I know and what I suspect, but not here. Come with me, quickly. The lionesses are hunting, and Kovu's helping them. This is our chance to leave unnoticed and bring them back home," she said, picking up her pace.

"Alright, then let's go," the younger male agreed, matching her stride. The two began moving faster until they were sprinting across the savanna, their paws barely touching the dusty ground as they raced towards the horizon. Jongeni's thoughts were a jumbled mess, he wanted to know what it was that Vitani knew, and where his friends were. 'Kimitar, Notai, Sky, where are you? Don't be hurt...' he thought as he ran alongside the lithe lioness.

They began to slow as the sun dropped, until finally, Vitani stopped altogether. Jongeni stopped a few paces ahead of her, and turned to look at her with a bewildered expression on his face. Surely she knew that they needed to hurry? That time was of the essence? Why was she stopping?

"We can't go on tonight. Without any rest, we'll be no good to them," she said, sitting down on her haunches. Jongeni started to protest, but the lioness was right, so he sat down himself. After a drawn out silence, Vitani spoke again. "Do you remember the rogue who stayed in the Pride Lands nearly two years ago by the name of Chukiza?"

"Vaguely. He was all scarred up and quiet. Kept to himself, as I recall."

"Yes, that's the one. He and I, it was all very hush-hush, but he... he's Sky's father. And last night, he came back," she explained. Jongeni guessed at where this was going.

"You think he had something to do with this?" he asked.

"Yes. He told me once that he lived with his father, roaming the savanna, up until the day his father died. I think now that he knows he has a son, he wants to live that way again. Or perhaps he just wanted to get back at me for telling him to leave, I can't be sure. But Sky was curious about him, so maybe he left to get answers. I don't know how Notai and Kimitar could be involved in this."

"One lion couldn't have abducted all three of them. There's got to be something more to this," Jongeni thought aloud.

"Well, I've told you all I know, now get some sleep. I need you to be at full strength in case we have to fight," Vitani snapped, laying down and closing her eyes. Jongeni just looked at her, his mouth hanging open, for a moment. Then he followed her advice and got himself as comfortable as he could, preparing for sleep.

---

It had been days since they'd eaten. Notai and her sister were getting extremely hungry. That's when they spotted it. Up ahead, laying in a patch of high savannah grass, trying to hide- a lone antelope. Kimitar nudged her sister, jerking her head in the beast's direction. Notai understood exactly what she meant. Without a word, Kimitar slunk off to the left, crouched low and approaching the antelope silently. Notai crouched as well and stalked off to the right. This had to work. She couldn't bear to go another day without a bite to eat. As she was getting close, Notai saw her sister leap, throwing her front legs around the antelope's neck even as it started.

Notai sprung too, landing firmly on the beast's hindquarters as it struggled to get to its feet. The smell of blood filled the air, and Notai knew that Kimitar had gotten her jaws on its throat. She dug her claws in and held on fast, but the antelope wasn't struggling very much. It must be really sick or something. Whatever it was, Notai didn't care. She was hungry, and she'd take what they could get. After a few long minutes, the beast stopped struggling altogether and fell to the ground, limp. Notai slid off of its rump and looked at its neck. Yep, it was definitely dead.

"Good job, sis!" she complimented Kimitar. The two of them rarely actually caught prey this big, being so inexperienced as they were, and usually ended up munching on vultures and such, as revolting as that was.

"Save the compliments until after we've eaten," Kimitar said, digging into the fresh carcass. Notai nodded and joined her sister in the meal. It was delicious. She took huge bites, hardly bothering to chew at all, swallowing the food as quickly as she could, trying to get as full as possible. As they were eating, they suddenly heard a creepy laughing from behind them. Notai turned to look, blood and a little bit of muscle tissue dangling from her mouth. It was a pack of hyenas.

"Hey look," said the female in front, "A couple of lions, all alone out here with a fresh kill."

"Hey boss, ain't lions always stealing our fresh kills?" asked one of the males behind her. She cackled.

"Why, I think you're right. These two lions are young, too, look at 'em. What say you boys we return the favor and steal their fresh kill?" The whole pack cackled in response.

"We can't give up our meal, Notai. Run with it. I'll distract them," whispered Kimitar to her sister. Frightened, Notai moved towards the antelope's neck. The hyena female stepped up and stood face-to-face with Kimitar.

"Hey there, why don't you give that to us?" she ordered. Kimitar shook her head and growled.

"It's our kill."

"Well, in that case, you'll be ours," said the hyena. As if on cue, two of the males behind her leaped forward and lunged at Kimitar. She darted away- and away from the carcass. As they followed her, Notai grabbed the carcass in her jaws and started dragging it away as fast as she could. She couldn't let her sister down.

"Hey! She's making off with the food! Stop her!" barked the leader. Another hyena broke from the pack and sprinted at Notai. She started panicking. She couldn't get out of the way fast enough. The hyena raked her hind leg viciously with it's claws. She cried out in pain as it tore deep gashes into her right back leg. When she cried out, she had to release their catch. The hyena grabbed it, and was joined by another. Together, they dragged it back to their matriarch.

"That's enough lads. They get the idea," she said, putting her front paws on the carcass as if to claim it. Notai looked around for her sister and saw that she was bleeding in several places. She started to approach Kimitar, but that's when the other lion did something very stupid. Kimitar sprinted forward and lunged at the matriarch. All of the hyenas, looking surprised, jumped in to help. Screams of "Kill this lion!" could be heard from the mass of flailing bodies.

"Kimitar! NOOO!!" Notai shouted. The only response she got from her sister was a yell back.

"RUN!!!"

Afraid, Notai turned and ran, tears streaming down her cheeks. She hated leaving her sister like this, but she knew that they would both perish if she stuck around. Maybe this way she could get help, and save her sister, too.

Kimitar glanced after her sister as the pretty princess fled. At least Notai would live to fight another day, and, if she was really lucky, maybe Kimitar could get their meal back. She slashed a nearby hyena, snapping at another, even as they overwhelmed her. She was still struggling when everything went black.

[Carl]

Chapter 8: Initial Chaos

Nala's brow furrowed at this newest development. The count of missing lions had gone up to five. Kiara was distraught by this point, and Kovu was blaming himself, claiming to be the "worst king the Pridelands had ever seen." Jongeni's mother was in a state of panic, and no one seemed to know how to handle this situation. The whole pride was gathered around, most of them looking quite afraid or upset. She didn't see a single determined face among them. With a sigh of frustration, she stood and took a step forward, it was time for someone to act like the king Simba would have been.

"Everyone calm down, this won't fix anything, and it won't bring back our missing loved ones," she said firmly. The loud sobbing and murmurs ceased as she strode forward to the edge of Pride Rock and spun around to face them, her tail swishing in agitation. "I believe Vitani and Jongeni left in search of our missing pride members. They disappeared while we were on our hunt, so they can't have gone far. Zazu!"

"Yes, Nala?" asked the aging bird as he flew over to land at her feet on the warm stone.

"Can you find them and report back to us ASAP?" she asked.

"Oh yes of course. Right away," he responded, taking to the air. Nala looked after him, hoping that he was still strong enough to succeed. Then she turned to the rest of the pride, her eyes burning with determination.

"Kiara, dear, I know it's hard, having your girls lost, but now isn't the time to panic. Suck it up and help us find them. Kovu, stop your skulking. Is this how you want to be remembered? As the king who did nothing while his daughters were lost? Put your game face on and rule your kingdom. If you can't handle everything, appoint someone else to deal with some of it, but don't just sit around being bitter and doing nothing. Be a king. Do it for Simba. Do it for your mother. Do it for Kiara. For your daughters."

Kovu sighed, "You're right. What am I doing... Nala, can you manage the kingdom while I go out in search of them?"

Murmurs rose from the crowd. "What?" "He's the king, and our last male." "We need you to stay here." "What will we do without our king around?" "The other animals won't respond the same way to a female." Kovu looked around at them indecisively. Surely they were jesting? The kingdom would be fine for a few days without him. Assuming he could find the missing pride members so quickly. What if he never found them at all? He sighed, not sure what to do. Everyone's eyes were on him.

After an extended silence, he met Nala's eyes again, "Nala, I want you to organize a searching party when Zazu returns and go after the missing pride members. I want you take Zazu with you and send him back with reports every few days or whenever something important comes up."

The lioness nodded and turned to watch the horizon for signs of Zazu.

---

It was already dark when Zazu spotted the two. He was growing a bit tired, but the sight of the scrawny lioness and the muscular yellow-golden male gave him hope and rejuvenated him somewhat. As he swooped lower towards them, he noticed that Vitani seemed to be asleep already, as shallow as her breathing was, but Jongeni could still be awake. As he drew nearer, his suspicions were confirmed by the young male looking up at him. Jongeni's eyes widened.

"Zazu..! What are you doing here?" he asked in a hushed whisper as he rose on his paws. The majordomo landed on the ground next to him, breathing heavily for a moment before answering.

"The pride is in a panic now that the two of you have 'gone missing' as well. Kovu and Kiara are in no shape to rule, and Nala sent me to find you."

"Well go back and tell them not to worry. Vitani and I know what we're doing. We're going to find Sky, and the princesses, and bring them home," the young male replied.

"Indeed," Zazu said, not at all convinced, "You two would do well to remain where you are for the present. I shall return after consulting with Nala. Try not to get yourselves lost."

With that, the majordomo took to the air once again, this time heading back to Pride Rock. Jongeni stared after him. 'Puh, does he really expect me to sit still while Kimitar's out there somewhere? Besides, I doubt ole 'Tani will be game for sitting in place all day while Sky's probably with that rouge, Chukiza,' thought the young male as he lie back down on the ground to get some sleep.

---

As darkness descended on her, Notai was beginning to feel faint. She kept thinking she could hear that malicious cackling, she kept hearing the growls and battle sounds in her mind. Her wounded back leg was protesting violently as she ran along, her body giving out, forcing her to slow down. Her paws felt heavy as they struck numerous sharp rocks or twigs, the occasional soft patch of savanna grass. Her face was stained with dried tears, and her vision was a little blurry. Her eyelids were heavy, her heart was still racing, her mind buzzing with so many stimuli that she couldn't make sense of much of anything.

A snaggly root caught her hind paw as she neared the edge of the plateau she was crossing, causing her to lose her footing. She tumbled over the edge and rolled to the ground below, landing in a weak heap. She sobbed quietly, and scrabbled at the ground, desperately trying to stand. After a few moments, she managed to pull herself up. She looked across the horizon, and saw nearby a river. Was it the river? She didn't know, but she was parched, so she staggered towards it. She was very close to the water's edge when she could go no further, and collapsed to the earth, unconscious.

[Carl]

Chapter 9: Before It's Too Late

The old lioness was still awake and waiting when Zazu landed on the rock, huffing. He didn't look too well. He wouldn't be able to fly anymore tonight. She had a feeling they'd need to move out quickly, however. The former queen sat patiently as the majordomo caught his breath.

"As expected, Nala, Vitani and Jongeni haven't gotten far. However, based on Jongeni's attitude, I think they'll be moving again before I can report back with instructions," he said.

"We are going after them. We have to get to them before they get too far ahead so that we can help in the search. I'm going to rally some lionesses, and we'll march tonight. Zazu, you can ride on my back. You look exhausted, but Kovu wants you to tag along," she replied.

"Naturally," muttered Zazu, rising to perch on the lioness' shoulder. She rose on her paws and entered the den to gather a searching party.

---

Notai awoke as water was splashed on her face. Blinking, the first thing she registered was that she was near the river. The second thing was that there was another lioness with her. She could smell it. For a brief moment, she thought it must be Kimitar, but then she realized that the scent was different, and she looked to her left to gaze upon her savior. A white lioness with pink eyes and a gray stripe on her head was looking at her with interest, her paw in the water, clearly the source of the splashing.

"You're awake," she said smiling, "Have a drink, I'm sure you need it."

Notai obeyed, leaning over and lapping at the water. As she did so, the other lioness spoke again, though she sounded nervous, and spoke rapidly and quietly. "My name's Yunhee. It's rare that I see other lions. You're hurt... I know of a cave where you can stay if you'd like. You can rest there, and I'll catch you something to eat..."

"No, I'm fine," Notai said, cutting her off as she rose. She realized however, that she was starving still, as the hyenas had ended their meal quickly, and she was still a little weak from fainting, "All right. You're right. I need a rest... but only a short one! I have to get help for my sister."

"Oh, what's wrong with her? Where is she?" asked the albino lioness, looking around.

"She... we were attacked by hyenas. They outnumbered us. She distracted them so I could get away, so I have to get help and go back quickly! Hopefully she's still alright..."

"Oh no, that's truly unfortunate. In that case, you shouldn't rest long at all, she could be dead already-"

"Don't say that!" Notai snapped, "She isn't, she can't be!" The young princess stopped as it sank in that it was starting to grow light out. Her sister had been on her own with the hyenas for hours already. She couldn't bear the thought, but Yunhee was probably right. There was no way Kimitar could have beaten them all. Her sister was most probably dead. She collapsed to the earth, ignoring the rocks and twigs that poked her underbelly, as tears began streaming down her face. "Oh Kimi, I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have left you... I shouldn't have run away...! I've failed you..."

Yunhee watched the other lioness' breakdown awkwardly, unsure of what to do or say. Hesitantly, she stepped over to her, and laid down on the ground beside her. She nuzzled the grieving lioness comfortingly. For a while, the two remained unmoving, until at last, Notai rose on her paws.

"My name is Notai, by the way," she said, still sobbing a little, "I'm not gonna keep grieving over my sister. I need some food, and I need to find my pride. Then we can try to help her. ...Would you... would you help me...?"

"Of course," Yunhee responded, rising as well. She wasn't going to abandon the first lion she'd seen in years, especially not one who needed help. Notai smiled weakly at the albino lioness. Yunhee was glad to help, so she spoke again, trying to be louder and more confident sounding than she had been previously, "Wait here. I'll catch you something to eat, and then we can return to your pride."

The white lioness then turned and sprinted away towards a rainforest Notai hadn't noticed earlier. She shook her head dizzily as she sat down. How had she missed that? She quickly reminded herself of everything that had gone on, and she didn't wonder anymore. It was no wonder she hadn't taken notice of it. After all, what importance was a rainforest to her right now?

[Carl]

Chapter 10: Conflictions

A chilled wind blew through Aiden's mane, the lion's gray fur blowing in the direction he was facing. His mother walked ahead of him, her eyes set on some distant point. He knew what she was looking for- the rainforest in which the missing piece of their family had dwelt for the past two years. His sister had left them because she didn't like the life they led. They were mercenaries, trading favors for physical rewards. Oftentimes, they were left roaming the lands, scraping up food whenever they could, and when they found work, it was often of the violent kind. It was not his sister's cup of tea. Nor was it his, per say, but it was the life they had always lived, and he couldn't abandon his mother to live such a life alone. He knew she was too stubborn to settle down with them somewhere.

That is, until recently, when her mind had changed. She had suddenly decided to search for her daughter. She insisted that she only wanted to visit with her, but Aiden wasn't so sure. He thought she might be interested in seeing what kind of life his sister led now. He figured his mother was hoping it was a nicer life than the one they lived now, and that they could reunite their little family and live a different life. But he'd never voice this suspicion until he knew if it was true or not.

He let his eyes drift across the horizon, until he noticed something odd far to his right. He stopped and squinted at it. It appeared to be the prone form of a lion in the distance. If he was right, he knew it wasn't his sister. This shape was too dark in color, and at this distance, he wasn't even positive that it was a lion. It was worth investigating though, he thought, so he called out for his mother to stop.

"Mother! I see something," he said. The gray lioness ahead of him turned around.

"What is it, Aiden?" she asked.

"I'm not sure. It might be a lion. Do you see it, way over there?"

She squinted at it, but the wind blew the blond tuft of fur on her head in front of her eyes. She shook her head to better see. That's when she made out the shape herself. It did look rather like a lion, and though it looked too dark to be her lost daughter, she had to check and be sure. After all, they had no idea where she was now. She might not still be in that rainforest.

"It could be your sister, let's find out," she said, loping in that direction. Aiden followed his mother, and when they reached the form, they could tell that it wasn't his sister. It was however, an unconscious lioness. She had suffered quite a few injuries, and appeared to be in bad shape. The gray lioness let out a huff. "It's not her. Come on."

"No, mother, we can't just leave her here like this, she's hurt pretty badly," her son protested. The lioness didn't bother looking at him, but resumed walking in the direction the rainforest should be.

"Exactly. She's a goner anyway, we shouldn't waste our time trying to help her," she said.

"That's ridiculous, Mom, she could still pull through. I'm getting her to some shade. Look, there's a big rock over there; I'll take her there and then we can see if there's any water nearby, or something to catch for her. I'm going to help her," he said, struggling to get the unconscious lioness onto his back. His mother turned around to tell him no, but at the sight of him with the lioness on his back, she gave in. She wasn't going to be able to change his mind, and what was this one delay?

"Oh alright. Maybe she's seen your sister anyway. I'll go hunt something, you see if there's any water near here."

---

Sky scrunched his face up in disgust as he looked at all the termite mounds around him and his "father." His life had become a hell ever since Chukiza had shown his face in the Pridelands, and he wasn't afraid to complain about it. He missed his mother, he missed his friends, he was hungry, he didn't get enough sleep anymore, and he spent all day everyday walking. He groaned for probably the millionth time that day.

"Where are we going?" he demanded, and not for the first time. Chukiza huffed. His boy wasn't making this enjoyable for either of them, but he reminded himself that this was Vitani's fault. She had forced his paw, and he was doing what had to be done whether he liked it or not.

"We have no destination, my boy, it is the journey that is important," he said in as cheery a tone as he could manage- which was approximately just a hair better than sounding angry.

"Well this journey sucks," Sky shot back at him, "I'm stuck out here with a mange-ridden scumbag. We're both going hungry, and there are no females in sight. What's supposed to be so great about this?"

"Watch your mouth, boy. You think I like this little father-son trip? You think this is what I had in mind when I came back? Because it isn't. I don't like you, and you don't like me, but thanks to your mother, we're stuck with each other, so stop complaining," the scarred lion growled, losing his patience. This was nothing like the life he'd led with his father. There was nothing but the scorching savanna heat and the hunger of a thousand years to accompany them on their journey. There was no familial love to make it tolerable, there was no pleasant chatter, there was nothing but unpleasantness. He grit his teeth as he began to wonder if he was causing more pain to himself than to the lioness he had wanted to hurt.

"There you go again, blaming my mother. How is this her fault?" the younger male asked, swatting at a scampering insect in the sand.

"It's her fault because she turned me away, you filthy little runt!" Chukiza snarled, rounding on the boy. Looking into the younger male's face, all Chukiza could see was Vitani. Sky had her nose, a similar facial structure, and his pathetic mane even looked similar atop his head to the tuft his mother sported. It was like looking at a male version of her. And hatred boiled within him anew. He hated her, and he hated her cub. Furious with himself, with the lioness he'd loved, and with the cub they'd produced, he drew back a paw and struck Sky firmly across the face, catching him by surprise. The younger male stumbled back.

Sky's eyes widened. At first he'd thought Chukiza just wanted to kidnap him, but now he saw that the older, battle scarred male meant to kill him. Some father he had. His lips pulling back from his teeth in a vicious snarl, Sky threw himself at Chukiza, prepared to fight for his life.

---

When Vitani and Jongeni rose in the morning, the male didn't mention to the lioness that he'd seen Zazu in the night. He didn't want to wait for the others, and he knew she wouldn't want to either. But after a short walk, she stopped anyway. Jongeni narrowed his eyes.

"Why are we stopping?" he asked. She sniffed the air. The princesses had either been fools, hadn't been after Sky after all, or had been unable to smell properly, because here, Sky and Chukiza's scents went forward to her left and the princesses' to the right. They hadn't gone the same way. She knew Jongeni would go after the girls, but she had to go after her son. She was lost in thought for a moment, trying to decide whether or not she really needed the young male's help. If she found Chukiza, she could probably take him out, and if she couldn't, Sky would help her. She didn't need Jongeni.

"The scents go different ways here," she said at last, "The princesses didn't go after Sky."

Jongeni sniffed the air himself. She was right. He knew she'd go after her son, so he took a step to the right, the way they'd gone. He had to find Kimitar. And her sister.

"I'm going after the princesses," he said, "I know you have to go in search of your son, but I can't come with you any farther."

"I know."

Without another word, the two split ways, both in search of their missing loved ones.

---

Notai looked up from the corpse of an okapi Yunhee had brought her, licking her chops. She'd had enough to eat now, and was ready to look for her way home. She needed to find her pride so that she could go back to help her sister. She rose quickly on her paws.

"Thanks Yunhee, now we need to see if we can find our way back home. I have to get help and go find Kimitar," she said to the white lioness. Yunhee nodded.

"Of course. Can you tell me about your pride? Where do you live?"

"Our pride is ruled by a lion named Kovu, my father. We stay at a huge rock near a waterhole-"

"I know that place! I saw it before, when I was still travelling with my mother. But she told us a lion named Simba ruled those lands," Yunhee said.

"Yes! He did, Simba was my grandfather's name. He was killed when I was just a cub," Notai responded, eager knowing that her new friend knew where they were going. "How far away is it, which way?"

"Follow me. If we double time it, we can be there within a day," Yunhee said, leading the way. Notai ran along with her. "It's a shame about your grandfather. My mother made it sound like he was a great lion."

"Yes, my mother makes it sound the same," Notai agreed.

"You'll have to tell me about him sometime, after we've seen about finding your sister."

"I'll tell you the stories I've heard sometime, but you'd learn more about him if you asked my mum or my grandmother, or someone else who knew him. You'll have to tell me about your family, too."

Yunhee nodded, but they didn't speak anymore. They needed to save their breath for the run to Pride Rock. Focused on their destination, the two lionesses raced out of the rainforest and into the sands of the savanna.

[Carl]

Chapter 11: Safe

Just as Yunhee had said, hours later, Pride Rock loomed before the two lionesses. Notai was overwhelmed with feelings. She was delighted, as she'd thought she'd never see this place again, she was distraught, because the last time she'd been here, her sister had been safe and sound, she was concerned as to how everyone was doing, since she'd been missing for days, and she was even more concerned as to how they'd take it that only one of the princesses had returned. There was a part of her that was also childishly hoping that Kimitar had made it home before her.

As they drew near, the princess could make out the form of her father talking to Zazu atop Pride Rock. She wanted to call out to him, but she was out of breath. That's when Jongeni's mother stepped out of the den and spotted them approaching. She said something to Kovu, who looked down. His face lit up at the sight of his daughter running towards him, and he leapt off the rock to meet her halfway.

"Kiara!" he shouted as he did so, "Kiara, Notai's home! Our baby's come back!"

As she met her father, Notai breathlessly nuzzled him, favoring her injured leg as it finally got a chance to relax. She was glad to be home, even if she had abandoned her sister. Yunhee smiled at her, but went unnoticed as Kiara bounded out of the den and rushed down to meet them. Kovu moved aside and let his mate nuzzle their daughter as well.

"Oh Notai, you're home," she said happily, moving back to look at her daughter. Then her face sank when she didn't see Kimitar. "But where's your sister? What happened?"

"I don't know where she is, or if she's even still alive..." Notai started, tears welling up in her eyes, "We left because a rogue took Sky in the night. I convinced Kimitar that we had to go after him and make sure he was ok. We followed their scent for a while, but after a windy day, we lost it. We got lost in the savanna, we were hungry, so we made a kill, but then a pack of hyenas appeared. They said something about lions always taking their kills, so they attacked us. Kimi told me to run and I did. I just left her there..."

As the princess told her tale, her worried parents noticed her favoring her leg. They exchanged worried looks, even as Kiara moved to comfort her crying daughter. Notai regained her breath and continued before they could say anything else.

"I ran until I passed out, and then if it weren't for Yunhee finding me, I might never have made it back here."

That's when the two noticed the white lioness for the first time. Yunhee shrunk back under their gaze. Kovu thanked her for bringing their daughter back and told Kiara to escort the two young lionesses into the den. As she did so, he climbed back up Pride Rock to where Zazu still waited. The majordomo had been watching everything from here.

"Zazu, fly out and meet with the search party. Tell them Notai's made it home. Tell them about the stranger abducting Sky, and tell them about the hyenas. Tell them not to give up the search for Kimitar just yet. She may yet live," he told the bird.

"Yes, sire." Without further ado, Zazu took to the air, hurrying to catch up with the lionesses.

---

The pool of blood was dried up. The smell of death was prominent here, as were the scents of hyenas, and the princesses. Jongeni stood, looking at the blood with a sinking feeling. This couldn't be real. It couldn't seriously be happening. The blood was Kimitar's. Her scent was all over it. And the putrid odor of death kept clawing at his nose. She was dead. She was gone. He couldn't believe it, but there was no other explanation for this. He didn't know how long he'd stood there, but he no longer had the will to search for Notai. Her scent was here, too, so he could only assume she had met an unfortunate end too.

At last, he drew himself away from the blood and turned to return to Pride Rock. He stared at the ground as he staggered along, overcome with sadness. After an unknown amount of time he heard someone call out his name. He looked up and saw Nala and a group of other lionesses ahead of him. He'd have to tell her that one of her granddaughters, probably both of them, were dead.

"Where have you been?" the aging lioness asked, "Have you seen Kimitar or Notai? Vitani or Sky?"

The young male sighed, "I... I have some bad news. I found a pool of dried blood. It smelled of Kimitar, and death. Notai, too. I don't think... I don't think they made it."

Nala's face fell, but after a moment became stern. She opened her mouth to answer him when they heard Zazu's voice. He was shouting for the former queen, and was obviously winded as he flew towards them. Nala turned and ran to meet the majordomo. A moment later he landed and, after catching his breath, reported to the old lioness what he'd been sent to say.

"Notai's alive?" she asked.

"Yes. His Majesty would have us continue the search for Kimitar though."

"It's no good," Jongeni interrupted, "I found a pool of her blood. It reeked of death. I... Kimitar, she's..." He couldn't finish the sentence, but Zazu nodded in understanding.

"A rather unfortunate turn of events, but not unexpected after her sister's tale," replied the bird.

"We still need to find Vitani and Sky," Nala said, her voice cracking a little.

"I know where they went. I can lead you to them, but not now. I need to see Notai," Jongeni said, tears starting to roll down his cheeks. Nala looked at him for a moment, not sure what to do. He was in no shape to find the missing lions right now, and she wanted to be there for her daughter when she heard the news. She knew that Vitani could handle herself, and she knew Sky was a lion after his mother's heart. They would be fine. She needed to take care of Kiara, Notai, and even Jongeni.

"Alright. Let's get back to Pride Rock," she said.

---

As Aiden was returning to the rock where he'd left the injured lioness after an extended search for a water source, he saw his mother had brought back an antelope. He'd found no water, so he didn't know how far they'd have to go to get her some. He stopped before his mother.

"No luck," he said. She nodded.

"I did have luck, fortunately. I found this not far from here. It seems a cheetah left it."

"We'll have to wake her so she can eat."

"Yes. I'll let you handle that, son. I'm too mean soundin'," the gray lioness said with a laugh. Aiden rolled his eyes. He knew his mother just didn't want to take care of this lioness. He leaned over and licked at one of her wounds before nudging the lioness.

"Hey, wake up," he said gently. After a few minutes, her eyes fluttered, and she began to come to. When she looked up confused and frightened, he shushed her, "It's ok, we're here to help. My mother got you this antelope, you took quite a beating. I looked, but there doesn't seem to be any water around here.... Take it easy and eat. You need it."

The lioness slowly did as he asked, though moving pained her sore carcass. As she tore into the antelope, she realized how hungry she was. She hadn't exactly been able to eat earlier, considering what had happened. She got so carried away that she nearly forgot the presence of the strangers until the male spoke again.

"My name is Aiden, I'm travelling with my mother. We're rogues," he said. It sounded better than mercenaries.

"It's a pleasure," his mother chimed in, though she didn't sound pleased, "I'm Nafsi. You wouldn't happen to be familiar with a white lioness by the name of Yunhee would you? We're looking for her."

"Mom...! Let her eat first, she needs to recover..."

"No, it's alright," said the dark lioness, licking her chops as she looked up from the corpse for a moment, "My name is Kimitar, and I'm sorry to say, I haven't met this Yunhee. I don't often venture outside of the Pridelands."

"The Pridelands?" Nafsi asked. She'd heard of that place before. She'd visited once or twice.

"That's right," Kimitar said in a low tone, returning to her meal. These strangers were generous, and the male was handsome. She'd always wanted to run away, find a male and start a new pride. They were rogues. This could be her chance to have what she'd always wanted. "You've heard of it?"

"Aye. Been there several times. You've gotten yourself some distance from home. Luckily for you, I know the way. I can get you back."

"Oh... I... I don't think I'll be going back," the dark lioness said, licking a wound. Nafsi turned a suspicious eye on her.

"Why not?" the gray lioness asked.

"I'd rather not talk about it," Kimitar muttered, hoping she was making the right decision. Notai probably thought she was dead, hell the whole pride probably did by now. It was the perfect chance for her to disappear.

"Fair enough. So how's King Simba?" Nafsi asked.

"I'm sorry to break this to you, but he died... A long time ago."

"Oh. Such a shame. He was a great king, with much to offer. Well, we'd best get moving if you're strong enough to walk. We need to find you some water and then see if we can locate Yunhee."

Kimitar stood. She was weak, but she could walk, "Alright, I'm up. Let's go."

[Carl]

Chapter 12: A Mother's Love

Bloodied, Sky and Chukiza stood a few feet apart, snarling and panting, their eyes narrowed at one another. Chukiza was impressed. The runt could fight. It wouldn't save him though. Sky's mane was too smallㅡ all Chukiza had to do was get one good strong blow delivered to the adolescent's throat and this would be over. He'd be free of the nuisance of the boy, and he'd have his revenge on Vitani. He let out a puff of air and charged at his son like a raging bull.

Sky's eyes widened, and he tried to jump aside out of the way, but Chukiza's blow caught his rear hip, and the rogue's teeth pierced his flesh. The two had been fighting for a long while now, and Sky was beginning to grow weak. Growling and trying not to let his weakness show, Sky slashed violently at Chukiza's scarred face, striking once, twice, three times. Blood dribbled down the male's face as Sky's claws racked one of his eyes, turning it into a pulpy mass of red tissue. The younger male's stomach turned a bit at what he'd done, and without even realizing it, he paused his assault and let his guard drop for a moment. It was long enough.

Furious at the loss of his eye, and in extreme pain, Chukiza lunged at Sky's neck, sinking in his fangs. Sky let out a cry of pain as the other male began to overpower him, knocking the surprised pridelander to the ground. Sky struggled to free himself, but he was too worn out. He could feel his consciousness fading. He didn't think he was going to make it.

Suddenly, a vicious snarl caught them both off-guard as a form hit Chukiza roughly in the side, throwing him off of Sky. The younger male caught a brief glimpse of what looked like his mother before he slipped out of consciousness.

Chukiza glared at Vitani, anger welling within him. She had found them, she had come to save the brat. She looked to be in fine form, and for a moment, he wished he could go back to the days when she'd professed to love him. Her gaze now was steely and cold. She wasn't the fond memories he'd had, she was a demon and a traitor. She'd wanted to keep him from having a loving home. She was pure evil, and she had to die.

"How dare you hurt him," she growled, lunging at him. Chukiza stood his ground, but he knew he couldn't win. He was already too wounded from battling with the runt and she was in top shape. She would wipe the savanna with him and paint the sand with what little blood he had left. He hated it, but he had two options. He could play dead, or he could run. He'd never outrun her in this shape, and should he play dead, as vile as she was, she might tear into him anyway, mutilating him as her idea of some sick form of revenge.

"Hurt him?" Chukiza grunted as he fell to the warm earth from her attack, "He attacked me, and he deserved each and every one of those wounds. The little brat doesn't know what's good for him, and neither did you. I guess it's really like mother, like son. You were always a heartless swine and so is he."

"That's enough," Vitani snarled.

Chukiza chuckled from where he lay on the ground, his blood beginning to pool around him. It didn't look like he was going to last. Vitani turned and walked over to her son, checking to see if he would live. He'd sustained many wounds, but she thought he would be okay. She just needed to get him to safety as soon as possible. She couldn't lose him. Not after she'd lost Nuka and her mother. Saving Sky was the most important thing right now, so she'd have to leave Chukiza as he was and hope he died off out here. She couldn't afford to waste time finishing him off.

She leaned over and licked at some of Sky's wounds, trying to figure out the best way to get him out of here. She couldn't carry him, he was too big. She couldn't drag him all the way back either, it was much too far. And she certainly couldn't leave him here as she went back for help.

"You can't save him," Chukiza chuckled. Running, living, escaping, what did it matter anymore? He'd killed her son. Sky wouldn't live, and so she'd suffer. He'd gotten his revenge, and he didn't really have anything besides that to live for. So he didn't care if she killed him. At this point, in fact, he'd prefer it.

"Yes I can," she said, grabbing her son's scruff in her jaws and carefully dragging him away, trying not to drag him over many rocks or twigs that might sting or cut him. She'd get him away from here and she'd save his life, and that was that.

"Are you kidding? He's- *cough*- he's d-dead already," the dying male wheezed from where he lay, "just give up. He's finished."

"He is NOT!" Vitani snarled, letting go of Sky and staring over at Chukiza.

"Oh ho ho, what's this...? Is the heartless swine able to-" here he coughed up a mouthful of blood, "to care about someone? Does she have a heart after all?"

"As a matter of fact, I do have a heart, and I'm going to save my son. If I don't, and you somehow survive, I will find you and end you."

---

"Vitani...!" Jongeni gasped at the sound of the loud roar. It had come from the direction she'd gone, and he just knew it was her. As upset and desperate to see Notai as he was, he couldn't ignore her. A roar like that could mean Sky was gone too, or that she was in trouble. They couldn't afford to lose any more pride members, so he raced off in the direction of the sound.

"Jongeni!" Nala shouted in surprise, taking off after him. The searching party quickly followed after the two, a sense of urgency in the air. After running for a while, they found her, and Sky. The male was in a bad way. It was clear that Vitani had been dragging him for a while, and she stood now, panting. Jongeni rushed over to the two.

"Vitani, are you alright? What happened? Is he okay?" he asked.

"Chukiza happened," she almost pouted. She was so angry, and yet she was so worried about her son that the anger didn't come through in her voice. "He was like this when I found them."

"Chukiza?" Nala asked, her mouth agape, "You mean to say he did this, after the hospitality we showed him two years ago?"

"What do you think I mean? Yes he did this!" Vitani snapped, "I hope hyenas eat his corpse."

"Is he.. dead then?"

"He was still fighting when I left, I would've finished him myself, but I had to get Sky away from there. He's probably a goner by now... but enough of that, help me get my son back to Pride Rock so we can keep him alive!"

---

"How did you know where to find us?" Kiara asked Yunhee, the two lying on either side of Notai. The princess was laying against her mother, drifting in and out of sleep. The white lioness watched her out of the corner of her eyes, noticing the gentle movements of the other lioness' stomach as she breathed. She shook her head and focused her attention on Kiara's face.

"I've seen your dwelling before. My family and I traveled through your lands once," she explained.

"Who is your family?" the queen asked, intrigued.

"My mother's name is Nafsi. My brother is Aiden. We traveled as a trio back then, but... we went our separate ways some time ago."

"Nafsi is your mother? The mercenary? She came through here a few times in the past. Sometimes she was against us, other times not so much..." Kiara told the white lioness.

"That is why we went our separate ways. The life of a mercenary is not for me. I don't think it's for them either, but they don't know how else to live," she explained.

"You do?"

"I didn't at the time, but I learned how," Yunhee said.

"How did you live? Where?" Kiara asked. She was only mildly interested in this lioness' story, but she needed something to help distract her from the fact that one of her daughters was still missing. She kept talking to the lioness who had returned Notai to her to pass the time.

"I found a jungle where I could live cozily. I made a den, and I learned to fend for myself better. As a nomad, food is scarce. But living in the jungle, there is access to more food supplies. There are lots of okapis in the jungle, and there's water not far away."

"And it's close to here?" Kiara asked.

"Within a day's run."

"You're talking about Hakuna Matata," Kiara said with certainty. She had never been there, but her father had told her about it. She was sure that was where the mysterious white lioness had come from.

"Hakuna Ma-what?" asked Yunhee.

"It means no worries," Kiara said, "it's a place my dad found, but it's more than that, it's a philosophy, a lifestyle." The albino lioness raised an eyebrow at the queen. Kiara decided to elaborate, "When my father, King Simba-"

"King Simba was your father? My mother told me he was a great lion," Yunhee interrupted.

"Yes, he was my father. When he was a cub, his uncle, Scar, took over the Pridelands and my father was exiled. Timon and Pumbaa, a meerkat and a warthog, took him in and took him to a rainforest where they lived- Hakuna Matata. I'm certain it's the same place you've been living in."

"Hmm I suppose it could be. Could you tell me more about your father?" Yunhee asked, becoming more comfortable as they talked.

[Carl]

Chapter 13: The Growing Storm

It was after dark when Notai was awakened by fervent activity. Yunhee was still laying next to her, but her mother was gone. She looked around trying to take in what was going on, but she was still groggy. Lionesses were scampering back and forth, many voices were talking at once and the general chaos was making her head spin. The first thing she became fully aware of was the fact that Yunhee was leaning very heavily against her, the white lioness shrunk to the ground, her eyes nervously following the activity. The next thing the princess became aware of was the fact that someone was injured in the back of the den, and everyone was crowding around to help. Notai lept to her feet, startling Yunhee, and uttered a single syllable under her breath.

"Kimi."

"It's not her," Yunhee said quietly.

"What do you mean it's not her?" Notai demanded, "It has to be her."

"No, it's a young male. They called him-"

"Sky! I almost forgot about him I was so worried about Kimitar," Notai said making her way toward the back to try and see. "Is he alright?"

No one seemed to hear her, so Yunhee responded, "He didn't look so good, but they seem to think he'll recover."

"Alright back OFF," Vitani's voice echoed from where the wounded lion lay, "Give him some space, wouldya? There's nothing else we can do for now." At her words, the crowd began to dissipate. As they did so, Jongeni who had been amongst the crowd, stopped seeing that Notai was awake. Tears filling his eyes, the young male closed the distance between them nuzzled the princess.

"You're ok," he whispered, pain in his voice. Yunhee felt awkward watching them, and looked away. She wondered if they were mates, or if they were intended to be.

"Yes, I'll be fine," Notai said, "but I'm worried Kimitar's-"

"Gone," Jongeni said with a sob, cutting her off, "she's dead..."

Notai's heart sank. She'd known that her sister's chances had been slim, but she'd held on to the naive hope that she'd pull through. She felt almost instantly entirely numb.

"No... it's my fault..." she breathed.

"Don't blame yourself..." Yunhee said in her quiet voice, trying to comfort the princess. But Notai didn't seem to hear her and just addressed Jongeni again.

"Where is she?"

"All we found was blood, lots of blood. It wreaked of death... and the scent of her..." he sobbed.

"Then I won't give up on her! I can't. She could still be out there, the smell of death could've come from our kill, and some of the blood, too-"

"Don't you get it? Your sister's gone! And she isn't coming back! Why did you two run off anyway! What did you expect to prove? Did either of you stop to think about the things that might happen to you? Did either of you realize you could be killed? And did you think about how that would affect the rest of the pride? Did she think about how it would affect me!" he snapped. The two stared at each other in a shocked and hurt silence for a few moments, and then Jongeni turned and stormed out of the cave. Notai's eyes followed him, and she noticed her parents sitting outside; her mother weeping and her father trying to comfort her. It couldn't be true. They hadn't found a body, so Kimitar could still be alive.

"Why are they all giving up on her? She could still be out there!"

"Maybe I can help," Yunhee piped up, "I'm familiar with the lands around here. Maybe I could find her."

"Thank you for offering," Notai said, walking back over to the albino lioness and sitting down next to her on the cool rock floor, "but you won't know her if you see her or smell her. It would be no good unless I went with you."

"Can't you though?"

"After what happened last time I left here in a party of two? No. My mother wouldn't allow it even if I wanted to leave.. and as much as I want to find Kimitar, I don't think the two of us could do it alone."

"Surely someone would be willing to help us."

"Like who? Look at them all, they're convinced she's dead. What else can I do?" the distraught princess bawled, falling to the cold stone floor of the den. Yunhee looked at her sadly, wondering how she could help her new friend.

---

Kimitar's eyes widened as she caught the faint scent of her sister and an unfamiliar lioness at this stream. She tried not to let it show that she recognized one of the scents here as she lapped up water. Nafsi was sniffing the area with a strange look on her face as they waited for the dark lioness to drink her fill. Did the gray lioness recognize the other lioness's scent or something?

"Aiden, you smell that?" she asked her son, flipping the tuft of hair out of her eyes.

"Yeah, Yunhee was here not long ago. She must still be close."

"Indeed. That, and it seems her scent is all over this place, older though. She must be living close to here."

"Really?" Kimitar asked, joining in their conversation, "That's great! Maybe you'll be able to find her soon."

"Yeah, but we'll have to rest first. Let's go lay under those trees so we don't get trampled in the night by animals in desperate need of water," the older lioness said dryly. It was clearly meant as humor, but neither Aiden nor Kimitar laughed, or so much as chuckled. The trio just quietly made their way to the shelter of the trees on the edge of the jungle they'd come close to. Kimitar and Aiden laid down near each other in the shelter, but Nafsi made her way a litter further into the trees.

"What is it like, living in a pride?" Aiden asked. Kimitar looked up at the sky, thinking of her family.

"It... it was nice," she said, "You're never on your own, and you have your family there with you all the time. And friends, too. There's lots of fun to be had... but it wasn't all great for me. I look like someone who... caused a lot of trouble for the pride, so they paid more attention to my sister. Some of them were even a bit rude and mean to me because I resemble that lion."

"Scar?"

"Zira."

"Oh, I had forgotten about her. My mother and I didn't hear much about Zira, she was before my time, and mother mostly knew the story of Scar. I don't know much about your pride's history," Aiden said.

"My former pride," Kimitar said under her breath.

"Right, sorry. So your resemblance to her, is that what caused this... uh..."

"Do you mean is that why I can't go back?"

"Yeah."

The dark lioness pawed at the earth for a moment, thinking of the best way to answer. Finally, she said, "In a way... it sort of had something to do with it. There were other... circumstances as well, though."

"What happened, if you don't mind my asking?" he asked.

"I do mind," she replied shortly and stood, walking a few steps away from him before lying back down. The conversation was over.

---

"I'm telling you, we shouldn't have taken the kill from those lionesses," the hyena called Awiti was telling her clan's matriarch as they drew nearer to the Pridelands.

"You're not still on about that are you?" the matriarch asked in an annoyed tone.

"Why not? Lions take our food all the time," another hyena piped up.

"Ah don't mind the lion-lover, she'll never let it go."

Awiti sighed. It would take a lot to get through to them, but she was used to that. They never much cared for the things she had to say. They liked her well enough it seemed, they took care of her, she wasn't always treated this way, some times they were very nice to her, in fact, and they refused to leave her behind. However, because of the lion-shaped mark on her rump, she was usually ignored in matters of this sort. She tried again to reason with them.

"Lionesses never travel together in solitary pairs. They belonged to a pride, probably the one based at Pride Rock, and they will come looking for the missing lionesses, especially if the one that got away gets back to the pride. They are going to attack us, and if their whole pride comes after us, we won't be able to overcome them all. Attacking those two was foolish," she insisted.

"Yeah, and aren't you the one who convinced us that the one wasn't a threat?" demanded the matriarch.

"She isn't, her pride is! That's why I tried to convince you to let them both escape. If that darker one died out there we'll be dead for sure! We have got to get away from here before the pride finds us," Awiti argued.

"Let 'em come! It's about time we teach those lions a lesson. We should be running things, not them! Look at what they've done to us! We're barely hanging on, it's time to take what's ours."

"Matriarch, please. I don't want to see you die, I don't want to see anyone get hurt," the younger hyena pleaded. All of the hyenas around her burst into fits of laughter, some of them dropping to the ground and rolling on their backs. Awiti rolled her eyes, waiting for the laughter to die down and give her another chance to speak. When the matriarch's laughing ceased, she looked Awiti in the eyes.

"Your concern is touching, but I think we'll manage just fine. We don't even know they'll come after us, it's just your speculation," the leader said, dismissing Awiti's theories.

"What if our roles had been reversed?" she demanded, "What if two of our females had made a kill and the lion's pride had stolen it, and killed one of the females? Wouldn't we go after them? So why wouldn't they come after us?"

"Because we're already going after them, sweet-cheeks," the matriarch chuckled, staring towards Pride Rock. The clan moved up behind her, all of the hyena eyes focusing on the home they'd once had, a home some of them had never known. Scar had given those lands to them, and then he'd betrayed them and lost the lands back to the other lions. It had been theirs, and the matriarch was determined that it should be theirs again. "We once owned these lands. Under Scar, we had what we needed. It was only because of that lion that everything went south. We will have this land back, but this time, we will not follow any lion's ordersㅡ we will rule ourselves, and we will drive them out!"

Awiti's jaw dropped in astonishment. "What? We can't do that!"

"Why not? Because you feel sorry for those monsters? What good has a lion ever done for us?" snapped the matriarch.

"No, I mean we can't do that, we'll all be killed," the other hyena insisted.

"Just because you think so highly of lions doesn't mean they're all that," the matriarch snarled, "You can either help us defeat them, or run into their loving arms and see what that gets you!"

"We can't overpower them..."

"Either shut up and deal with it or get lost. We don't need weak links bringing us down."

"Fine. I can't watch as you get everyone killed," Awiti said sternly, walking past the matriarch and towards Pride Rock.

"If you leave, you're not welcome in this clan anymore!" shouted the matriarch.

The rebellious hyena stopped and looked back at her leader, "And if I stay, I'll die for sure. I'll take my chances reasoning with lions before assaulting them." With that, she began to run into the Pridelands, ignoring the shouts of her clan behind her. Hopefully the lioness who had escaped would have made it back to Pride Rock by now, and the one she'd convinced them to spare was hopefully alive and well too. If so, she might be able to convince the lions to spare her, at least, if not the clan. She had no other options at this point if she wanted to survive. She hoped the lions would be more willing to listen to her than her clan was.

[Carl]

Chapter 14

The three had risen sometime after the sun and, after catching a lone antelope off guard by the river for breakfast and having a drink from the banks to sustain them, resumed their search for the white lioness Yunhee. Nafsi led the way, sniffing the air from time to time, and Kimitar walked in silence, Aiden trailing behind her. Occasionally, the grey male would ask her a question, or try to make small talk, and though Kimitar would love to run off with these two and form their own pride, she could help but begin to feel annoyed by him. She couldn't answer his questions without revealing that there really was nothing stopping her from going back to Pride Rock aside from her own desires to be away from the eyes she perceived to be judging her.

Even as she thought of the loathsome looks she got from half the pride, she saw Pride Rock ahead of them. At first, it didn't really register what she was seeing. She was so used to seeing the stone formation that she didn't even think twice about seeing it a ways before her. Not until Nafsi had said in her rough tone, "Looks like we're heading for that rock o' yours, sweet cheeks."

"What? No! I can't go back there!" she protested.

"Not even long enough for me to ask if they've seen my daughter? They're nice folks up there, no way you done something bad enough they'll kill ya without letting us talk real quick and then be on our way," Nafsi insisted, not changing her course or even looking back at Kimitar. The brown lioness sighed. She couldn't argue with that, even had she done something that would warrant exile. She had to go back.

"Alright, you have a point," she admitted. Well, just because she was going back didn't mean she had to stay. She could leave with these two anyway. She'd assure everyone that she was okay, and then they could get Yunhee and leave. There was no reason for them to stay longer than that, she told herself.

---

Zazu and his daughter as well as his soon-to-be replacement as the majordomo, Zila, flew towards Pride Rock at an alarming speed to relay the news. Not that they were much ahead of the news, but they were determined to provide some warning to the lions of the Pridelands. Kiara and Kovu were still sitting outside the den, and Jongeni was farther out on the rock.

"Sire, Madam!" Zazu squawked as the duo drew near. Zila helped him to land on Pride Rock, just behind the blond lion, and began to explain the situation as he caught his breath.

"Father and I spotted a lone hyena approaching Pride Rock, Your Majesties," she said, "What shall be done?"

"A hyena?" Kovu asked, anger boiling inside him.

"Yes, sire," Zila confirmed.

"Notai said hyenas attacked her and Kimitar, their kind is not welcome here!" the king roared, jumping to his paws.

"I agree. We should go out there and kill it!" Jongeni growled, turning and moving towards the stone ramp leading off of Pride Rock.

"I know hyenas attacked our girls," Kiara spoke up, her voice still shaking a little from the crying, "but we can't just kill this one like that. It could be from another clan, for all we know, or maybe it's peaceful."

"Peaceful?! Their kind killed our daughter! They're all dangerous!" Kovu snapped.

"Listen to yourself! Don't you think you're being hypocritical? Look at where you came from, Kovu. All of your family attacked Daddy, but they did it under Zira's orders. None of you are dangerous to us without her. Maybe... maybe this hyena is the same," Kiara entreated him. Her mate sighed. She was right. He was being hasty and cruel, and it wasn't right. No one, hyena or otherwise, should be judged by the group they belonged to.

"Alright, we'll see if we can talk things out with this hyena," he agreed. Jongeni huffed his disapproval and turned back around, staring off the rock formation and into the distance. Maybe they could forgive the worthless scum for Kimitar's death, but he couldn't. They were all evil, vicious animals that should be killed on sight. The king and queen, on the other hand, moved to a place from which they could observe the lone hyena's approach, and waited for it to be near enough to speak to them.

---

Awiti stopped nervously beside the stone formation. The two lions looking down at her didn't look cruel, maybe they'd hear her out at least. She didn't want to yell up to them in order to relay her entire message and plea, but she couldn't just waltz up their like an old friend either. The hyena slowly bowed, to show that she was coming in peace. Then she gazed up at what she assumed to be the king and queen of the Pridelands.

"Excuse me, sire, if you be the king, may I come up and have a word?" she called. The chocolatey colored male eyed the orangey female beside him. She nodded, and then he cast his gaze back down to the awaiting hyena.

"You may," he said. The hyena carefully made her way up to them, and as she neared the top, she saw another lion, this one a lighter color, sneering at her. Ok, he didn't trust her, or just didn't like her kind. She'd expected that. The fact that the king had decided to allow her to come up here at all was more than she'd expected. Not wanting to risk upsetting them, Awiti knelt before the royal couple once again.

"I come with a warning, and a plea," she began.

"Warning of what?" jeered the blond lion, his eyes burning, "Warning us that you're out to kill another one of our lionesses?!"

"Actually, we didn't kill either of the lionesses my clan attacked," Awiti told him calmly.

"Liar!" the pale male spat.

"What?" the king and queen asked at the same time.

"My clan's matriarch spotted two lionesses with a kill. We hadn't eaten, so she ordered us to forcefully take the food from the lionesses. I warned her that they were probably from a pride and, in fact, probably this pride, but she didn't listen and the clan attacked. She was going to let them live if they just gave us the food, but the darker of the two refused to give it up. The other lioness ran and the dark one attacked. They had beaten her pretty badly by the time I convinced them that she was no longer a threat and to lay off. She was still alive when we left," Awiti explained. The blond lion's face changed, and the hyena realized that the darker lioness must have been important to him, and based on his accusations, she must not have come back.

"Where is that lioness now?" asked the darker male even as his queen was rising on all four paws.

"My Kimitar is alive?!"

"I don't know for sure, but she was alive when we last saw her, and she was gone when I was back in the same area again, so I reckon she is."

"Why are you telling us this? How can we trust you?" the blond lion asked.

"Jongeni!" the queen scolded him.

"I'm telling you this because my matriarch is planning an attack on you lions. Our clan isn't strong enough to overtake you, and she is too foolish to realize it. In a full-on assault we'd all be killed. I came to speak with you hoping we could work things out, and maybe save my clan, or at least some of them... Please, at least let me stay here with you, she told me if I wouldn't fight you lions that I had to leave the clan forever," the hyena pleaded.

"Why don't you want to fight us though? Why did you convince them to spare Kimitar?"

"All my life I've heard horrible stories about lions and their cruelty, and I heard how lions tell their children that we are evil... I don't know what started this conflict between our species, but I don't see the need for it to go on. I figure, maybe lions are misunderstood. Well, that and they've always called me 'lion-lover' anyway because of this," Awiti explained, indicating the lion-shaped marking on her hip.

"I won't believe you until I see Kimitar," Jongeni said in a disbelieving tone.

"Well, I'm right here," a voice called from below the rock. The party looked down to see a trio of lions, one of them a dark lioness covered in healing wounds. The one they'd been calling "Kimitar." Awiti breathed an inward sigh of relief. There was her proof, the lioness was still alive.