The Chosen Ones

[Chizuna]

Hi everyone, Chizy here XD. This is my story The Lion King III: The Chosen Ones. It takes place about a year and half after TLK II. I have an older verison of this story on FF.net but I have decided to rewrite the whole story from scratch, so I'm looking for any criticisms, likes or dislikes ya'll might have. Now on with the fanfic!

Chapter One: The Circle Opens

Bursts of loud, fierce roars ripped across the morning sky. Frantic, panicked screams of death were constant as the golden plains became tainted with dark splatters of blood.

Hidden away from the heart of all of this insanity, a tearful cub shook with fright. She was curled tightly under her older sister’s body, almost crushed by the tiny hole they were in.

Who were those monsters that invaded their home? How did they find them?

Their grandmother promised that if they hid there like brave, obedient girls that she would come back for them. The young cub wanted to call for her mother so that she could come to her rescue and protect her from all of these scary things. However, with the dark blood soaked on her sister’s paws and her own pelt, she was cruelly reminded that her mother would never return to them. The very thought of their mother brought anew fresh tears to her eyes and she let out a mournful cry.

“Sis…sis…please, you have to calm down…please calm down.” Her older sister urged in a desperate tone, hugging her tighter.

The cub sniffled, “I-I can’t! I want her; I miss mom!”

“You don’t understand; we can’t see her anymore! She’s gone!” the older cub sobbed. She scrubbed at her own tears, caking blood on to her cheek. “We are all we have now.”

“How dare you go back on your word!! You promised that you wouldn’t kill anyone else you monsters!!”

“Oh no, I would never harm such a cub. I’m just going to borrow her for a while. Now, move aside.”

“I won’t let you have her! Haven’t you done enough?!”

Immediately, the roars of conflict and malicious cackling drew ever so closer. The two cubs watched on in silent horror, paralyzed. That was unmistakably their grandmother’s voice and from the huge shadows that danced erratically on the cave walls, she wasn’t alone. The young cub buried her head into her sister’s flank, unable to take any more.

Why do we have to hide? They’re the ones who came here! Why don’t they just go away!!

Suddenly, their grandmother’s ear splitting cry made both cubs jump in terror. They watched with wide eyes as their grandmother was jerked into the entrance of the cave by a group of vicious rogues. The bloodied mess of a lioness tried in vain to get to her paws but was unable to due to her numerous injuries. The young cub continued to gape on, paralyzed when another, familiar dark furred lion circled her with deadly intent, all the while keeping his cool smile.

Against her will, she felt her body wrestle against her sister’s and wild screams escaped her mouth. Her sister pressed a strong paw over her to muffle the mangled cries, unwilling to allow her to come to her grandmother’s rescue. The two cubs could only watch helplessly as the rest of the nightmare unfolded.

“I will ask again. Where is she?”

Their grandmother didn’t reply. She narrowed her eyes hatefully and spat at him.

In one swift motion, his black claws tore across her face. In that one moment, the young cub’s world and mind went into a deep, dark whirl. An eruption of sudden anger that she had never felt before allowed her to break away from her screaming sister. With this one action, it was far too late to turn back, she had roared at the dark lion with the force of a demon.

Before she could snap herself back to reality, he flashed his yellow fangs at her with a triumphant smirk.

“Ah, there you are.” He replied with a soft, almost inviting tone. Despite this, it sent a chill down her spine. “You’ve eluded me for long enough.”

The young cub tried to turn tail and run back to her sister but he immediately snatched her up with his claws. Her sister sprung to her paws from her hiding spot, roaring in complete anxiety.

“Let me go! Let me go!” she screamed loudly.

“Let my sister go! Put her down!”

“Please, sire. I beg of you! Call this madness off!”

Another voice dripping with agony made itself known. From the entrance, a teenaged lioness hung her head, sobbing. It was the traitor; she was the one who tore apart their whole pride and her whole family in a single morning. She fell to the dark furred lion’s paws, not trying to mask her shame.

“Please, stop this senseless killing! This isn’t what I wanted! I never asked for this!”

“Oh, but you did my dear.” The dark lion purred dangerously. “You betrayed your own family for a new world, one that you promised to build with me. Now, that this cub has fallen into my paws as a gift of providence, rise to your paws. You will witness the creation of a new kingdom; time will not stop what has been put into motion.”

The lioness limply stood, sobbing. An old prayer, almost like a madness mantra, started to repeat itself in her voice. Outside, the final roars of their pride sisters finally subsided and left an intangible reminder in the air. The young cub’s sister stopped screaming as she too fell to her haunches in frozen despair, her irises shrunk in absolute defeat. There was officially no resistance for the dark lion to walk away from the cave with his prize.

As for the young cub herself, she clung to the prayer that would haunt her very soul like it was a forbidden wish. It would be the last thing that she ever heard from her homeland.

Ubaya hauna kwao mola nisitri na njama zao

There is no special place for their wickedness; Oh Lord, save me from their evil plots.

OoOo

[In the Pride Lands, several months later]

The circle of life started again as it always did. The promise of new life could be heard in the wind as it carried itself around the African savannah, whispering of the change to come. It was heard in the animals who were getting ready to celebrate the creation of a new era and the shining future that they had been waiting for.

Far away from the lush green plains of the pride lands, a wise old baboon kept himself away from the festivities of the morning. He was busy, unable to join the rest of the kingdom just yet. His withered and elderly hands were covered in bright colored powder as he swiftly created the image of two cubs on the inside of the ancient baobab tree. Excitement filled his movements as he continued to work on the piece; drawing two noses, eyes and tails for emphasis.

Eventually the old baboon named Rafiki drew away from his work, his beady eyes flashing with amusement as he grinned at his masterpiece. At last, it was finished. With the soft light of the afternoon reflecting on the artwork, he couldn't contain his mirthful laughter.

It was time for him to introduce the new Prince and Princess to the Pride Lands.

Every animal in the kingdom walked in a line to Pride Rock. It was a breathtaking vision of a late afternoon. The unlimited sky that stretched over Africa was painted with vast hues of red, orange, yellows and intermixed with dusty shades of purple as the dusk was just starting to settle. Thousands flocked, big and small, from the mightiest elephant to the tiniest ant, in order to pay tribute to their new Prince and Princess.

The animals began to chant as they made their way to the ceremony. Animals like the antelope and zebra, stomped their hooves rhythmically. The elephants trumpeted powerfully out of pure joy, shattering the calm of the afternoon while the birds flew in the sky untouchable. Everyone was chanting and singing softly; it was an old traditional song that had been sung for generations in the pride lands. If one listened, the song would sound something like this:

Ibanbeni njalo bakihi (Hold on my people)
Ninga diwla (Don't get weary)
Ninga phelelwa nga mandla (Don't lose your strength)

The animals continued to march on, their voices filling with strength and pride. It was a song celebrating their triumph over the trouble that once plagued their land but most importantly; it was a song embracing their collective identity as one. Eventually their voices blended into a perfect harmony.

One by one
Ngeka ba lunge (They will not succeed)
One by one
Siya ba bona (We can see)
Babe fun'ukusi qeda (They were trying to hold us back)
Ngoba thina (Because)
Siya zazi (We know who were are)

Zazu, a brilliantly blue colored hornbill flew in a wide arc above everyone else. As the King's majordomo, he examined with a critical eye to see everything fall into place. Once he determined the ceremony was going smoothly, he flew back to Pride Rock to inform the King about the progress that had been made.

The majestic Pride Rock was basked in the shadows of a darkening sky, making the huge landmark stand out more than usual. Zazu soared into the mouth of the cave, smiling and bowing at the paws of the monarchs, Kiara and Kovu.

"It's time." Kovu, the King, whispered lovingly to his mate. He nuzzled his Queen's cheek, smiling tenderly down at his two bundles of joy. The cubs looked up at him with wide curious eyes.

Rafiki, as the kingdom's shaman, wasted no time in starting the tradition of anointing the newborns. The old baboon shook his gnarled staff at the two cubs playfully, getting a few soft mews from them in return. He then took one of the numerous heavy gourds hanging and cracked it open, allowing the red sticky juice to roll off the sides. Dipping his hand into one of the halves, he smeared a line onto the first born cub's forehead with his thumb, and then repeated the action with the other cub. This signaled that they were now protected by the Great Kings of the past. Next, he took a handful of sand and sprinkled it over them. It was a sign that they were part of the Circle of Life, for they will one day return to the ground much like their forefathers before them.

He gently plucked the firstborn from her mother's forepaws, cradling her protectively as if she was his own daughter while Kiara tenderly picked up the second cub by the nape of his neck. Rafiki motioned for Kiara and Kovu to get to their paws and follow him out onto the promontory of Pride Rock. When they stepped into the afternoon, a breath of air teased the two lions with its presence.

There was a respectful silence held as Rafiki started to slowly hobble his way to the end of Pride Rock. Everything on the earth frozen in fervent anticipation and was just waiting to burst. Who knew what this new generation would bring? What changes would the new heirs of the throne bring to the animals' way of life? Kovu and Kiara shared a proud glance at each other as a few leaves blew past them. Much like Queen Kiara's own birth, the animals knew that her grandfather was watching over them in blessing.

Nothing would be the same after tonight. After the cubs' presentation, it would finally cement the end of hatred between the pridelanders and the outsiders. The new Prince and Princess were a symbol of that union between the two once warring prides, showing that the road that was once paved with strife was now a clean slate of peace and harmony. There was no turning back now; today was the day that the past could finally be put to rest.

Finally, Rafiki made it to the end of Pride Rock. He proudly raised the two cubs high above his head, almost into the heavens so that the animals could see them. At that moment, wild cheers of all kinds exploded in a joyous uproar within the huge crowd below and flooded throughout the whole pride lands. The two cubs looked down upon the lands they would one day inherit and their subjects with confusion. They had no concept, no idea, of the endless hopes and dreams that their birth and eventually their lives would carry.

OoOo

After the night's celebration died down, the young King and Queen retreated back into their den for some alone time with the family. It was heartwarming sight to see, all of the pride sisters gave their blessings to the cubs, showing them with love and affection.

Queen Kiara was exhausted from all of the day's activities but wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. It had been a full month and a half since she had been able to leave the birthing cave so she was so happy to finally share her newborns with the ones she cared for the most. At first, she had been very nervous, like new mothers usually were but she had Kovu supporting her the entire time. When the ex outlander first found out he was going to be a father; Kovu tried his best to make sure that she was as comfortable as she could be. Every day, he would take time out to sit and listen with renewed awe over the sound of their cubs inside of her. The young couple each had their own ideas for what they wanted to do with their new family, like how Kovu wanted to raise his sons how to become fierce yet kind fighters or how Kiara wanted to spend every day playing with her daughters.

Near the tail end of Kiara's pregnancy, Kovu had become much more fussy and overbearing but Kiara found it adorable that he had already fallen into the fathering role so quickly, even at the expense of her own sanity. Once they were born, Kiara saw the pure happiness radiating from her mate, tears and all. As for herself, the moment she laid eyes upon them, she knew she was in love. Her son and daughter were so tiny, so helpless yet Kiara instantly felt warmth that she had never felt before inside of her heart. They were a gift made out of the love between her and Kovu, making them all the more precious.
The young Queen smiled down at the two cubs. Their son was the rich dark color of the earth itself while their daughter held the golden orange of the African sunset itself almost mirroring a younger version of herself and Kovu.

"They're so perfect, Kiara," her mate purred into her ear as Kiara beamed up at him. "You're made me the happiest lion alive."

"And you have made me the happiest lioness alive." Kiara whispered back. They shared a loving nuzzle, not wanting to pull away from each other. Feeling the two cubs nestle closer to her in response, the lioness let out a giggle, "I guess they want to share the love too."

Kovu smiled warmly, "I see."

He slowly bent down bent down and very lightly nuzzled the tiny cubs with his nose, speaking in a playful whisper, "Hey there! Is it okay with you two to share mommy with me?"

The male half of the two cubs yawned at him, his cute pink tongue unfurling lazily. He then snuggled closer to his mother's warm fur, prompting a wide grin from his father.

"That's a definite no," Kovu noted, still grinning.

Kiara laughed, "Looks like we had a case of father, like son when it comes to sharing!"

"I wouldn't want it any other way," Kovu replied sincerely, settling back down.

"I still can't believe my little girl's all grown up now," announced Simba, grinning like the proud grandfather he was. The large gold lion playfully dipped his head in front of the cubs allowing them to play with his mane, while Nala, their grandmother playfully cooed at the sight of them.

"Daddy, please! You're embarrassing me," Kiara giggled again, shifting her forelegs so that her parents could get a better look at the cubs.

"It's my job to embarrass you," her father told her smoothly, flashing the orange lioness a toothy grin. "Call it pay back for all those years of making me a nervous wreck."

Nala rolled her turquoise eyes at him in amusement, adding, "Don't pay any attention to your father, Kiara. He will behave himself while I'm around. By the way, have you picked any names for the cubs yet?"

Kovu and Kiara exchanged glances. They had come up with their answer a long time ago.

"Actually…Simba, Nala," Kovu said, smiling warmly. "We decided that we want you to do the honors of naming our cubs."

Simba looked shocked, yet touched by this announcement, "Oh wow…I-I'm speechless here. Are you sure you both want this?"

"Of course, we couldn't think of anyone better than you to do the job," Kovu told him, still smiling warmly. A teasing smirk then crossed his handsome features, "Besides, I'm pretty sure you old timers know a lot more names than we do."

"How nice of you to remind us, Kovu," The former King replied, dryly. He smiled down at the tiny brown cub in Kiara's forelegs," Well, little guy, I think we'll call you Tanabi."

"Tanabi?" Kiara asked.

Simba nodded, "Your grandfather used to tell me stories about him all the time when I was a cub. Tanabi was one of the greatest Kings of the pride lands and one of my favorites."

Nala nuzzled Simba affectionately before dotingly licking the female cub, "Since your little brother's name is Tanabi, then you will be Ayira; my precious granddaughter. It's a beautiful name for a beautiful princess."

"Tanabi and Ayira…" Kiara murmured thoughtfully, trying the names in her head a few times. She smiled as her son yawned and gently rubbed his back, "Sounds perfect."

Soon Kovu and Kiara leaned into each other tiredly. They shared another proud smile, nothing in the world could compare to the love they had for their new family. It was more than just a dream come true. Tomorrow, they would fall back into their boring routine of ruling the kingdom. However, for right now, celebrating their cubs was all that really mattered. It was a moment they would never forget and cherish for their whole lives.

That night, a shooting star fell from the sky, marking the birth of Prince Tanabi and Princess Ayira of the pride lands.

[UncoordinatedPisces]

Wow, best TLK fanfic I've read in a while! I really want to see more! Keep it up ^^

[Chizuna]

Thanks for the kind words, AmyMarie . I really appreciate it !

Now on to the next chapter:

Chapter Two: [b]Mystery Boy[/b]

After night fell, the dark lion rounded up what was left of the survivors. Forcing them into a small line, he demanded that they obey his complete commands and to march out into the world unknown. His rogues kept everyone together, snapping their jaws at any straggler that fell behind and quickly dealing out a physical beating for those who didn’t comply. Not only was the dark lion stealing away their free will but he also demanded their pride as well, forcing them to address him as “King” instead of the murderer that he was.

The young cub kept to herself the whole time. She hated how he kept her specifically at her side, away from everyone she ever knew. She couldn’t cry anymore, the endless stretch of desert had dried up all of her tears and replaced them with a cold, bone chilling fear that stole her voice. She had very quickly that loose words from her mouth would result in another death.

Sand and relentless pain blurred the edge of time for the young cub; she didn’t even realize that they had finally reached the border of the “King’s” land. More ferocious and ugly rogues met them at the border. They jeered cruelly at their new guests and a couple of them spat at some of the older lionesses, their faces alight at the thought of fresh meat. Their “King’s” throne stood in the darkness like a demonic fortress and soon hard roars filled the air.

Soon the young cub and her pride learned that they were now part of a dark brotherhood, known as The Shadow Pride. This would be the everlasting hell for the rest of their lives, one that they would never be able to escape from.

OoOo

Another morning sprang life to the pride lands. It was going to be another one of those peaceful days that everyone had come to expect. The animals aimlessly grazed the plains, going on with their lives without a care in the world.

However, for the unfortunate souls who claimed the royal cubs as their family, no morning was ever normal. Both cubs had grown with as fast as the moons in the sky had disappeared. They couldn’t have been any different, in terms of both personality and in looks.

While Tanabi looked like his mother physically with his big ruby colored eyes, his dark coloring was exactly like his father. Except for the fiery red tuft that grew on top of his head, which was something that came from his Grandpa Simba. Ayira on the other hand, had grown to look like a female Kovu, sharing his dark emerald eyes but had a bright orange mahogany colored coat of fur, a mix between her mother’s coloring and her fathers.

And with these two different cubs, their personalities were bound to crash, just as they were getting ready to now…

“I spy with my little eye, something…big.”

“Hmm, is it this huge boulder?”

“Nope.”

“What about that huge tree over there?”

“Not even close.”

“Oh, come on! It has to be Daddy then. There’s nothing else out here!”

“Hehe. You’re not really good at this game, sis.”

“Ugh, Tanabi! What the heck are you looking at?”

“The giant cloud fish in the sky. Duhh!”

Ayira glared up from her spot; looking for any sign of the offending cloud in question. There were plenty huge, fluffy clouds roaming through the pretty blue sky. There were small, stringy clouds. There were small clouds. There were in-between clouds. But there were definitely no sky fish that was for sure. The princess frowned angrily; once again her younger brother tricked her. But this time, however; she wasn’t going to lose her turn in ‘I spy’ again. She was going to teach him a lesson!

“Daddy!” the female cub whined at the top of her lungs. She made sure both of her parents were woken up. “Tanabi is cheating again!”

“Okay. I think that’s enough ‘I spy’ for today cubs.” Their father lazily told them, “C’mon, relax and enjoy the sun. That what your mom and I are doing.”

“Whatever. I’m tired of this game anyway,” Tanabi said. He rolled onto his back and stared up at his father eyes curiously. “Hey, Dad, how’d you get that wicked battle scar?”

Kovu laughed. Of course, the deep cut he used to wear as a mark of shame would be considered cool by his son. It never ceased to be nothing more than a fountain of questions for him, even though the scar had faded well with age.

“I’ve already told you, it’s not a battle scar.”

“Well, if it ain’t a battle scar. What is it?”

Kovu racked his thoughts, trying to find an acceptable answer that didn’t involve telling his son that his crazy grandmother slapped the fire out of him. Thankfully, Kiara decided to pipe in, she had been following their conversation with no small amount of amusement.

She gave a teasing smile, “What do you think it is?”

“Maybe it’s a birthmark. A freaky, crusty birthmark,” Tanabi’s face morphed into one of utter disgust and he back away. “Ewwww…”

Ayira laughed at his response, “Tanabi’s crazy, Daddy. I don’t even want to know where he came up with that.”

“I’m with you on that, Ayira,” Kovu replied back, laughing again. “One day when you’re both old enough to understand, I’ll tell you the whole story.”

His son rolled his eyes playfully, “Oh goodie! By that time, I’ll have enough white fur to match the back of your head!”

“Now c’mon, don’t talk about your father like that,” Kiara spoke up in defense of her mate. “White fur is a sign of wisdom and I think it makes your dad look much more handsome that way.”

Kovu frowned, “Thanks so much for that, sweetheart. Certainly brightens my day.”

Kiara amusedly licked his cheek, “I’m playing with you. You look as young as you ever have.”

“You know what, I betcha the reason why he ain’t sayin’ anything is because he actually got his butt beat and he don’t want anyone to know.” Tanabi boasted, crouching down and play fighting with Kovu’s shadow, “When I’m all grown up; I’ll be the best fighter in the pride lands. I won’t get a single scratch, I’ll beat them all.”

“Hmm, I’d like to test this so-called theory of yours,” Kovu said, standing up. He jokingly stood in a defensive stance. Play wrestling was one of his favorite pastimes with his son. “Come on then, show me what you got son.”

Tanabi’s eyes lit up, “Really?”

“No, not really,” Kiara told them with a frown, “You know how I feel about you two roughhousing around. You could get hurt.”

“Kiara, I give my word that our son will not get hurt in any way.” Kovu told his mate with a sincere expression, “…He’ll just get the biggest scare in his life when I win.”

“Nuh-uh, mom, he’s gonna go cryin’ to you when I win!”

Ugh, boys. Ayira rolled her eyes in boredom as she watched her brother and father argue back and forth until Tanabi decided to pounce on their dad.

She didn’t understand why they had so much fun rolling around in the dirt like mad lions and bashing each other’s brains out. When she noticed a tawny colored cub walking towards them, her frown deepened. Great, here goes another blockhead.

Tanabi was in mid-pounce when the bigger cub decided to tackle him from the side, sending him sliding across the ground. When he looked up, he saw the older cub snickering at him and Tanabi’s smile grew.

“Wow, Jelani, you actually learned how to hit harder than a girl. What took you so long?”

Jelani was Tanabi’s best friend in all of the Pride Lands, not only that but he was also Vitani’s only cub. He looked about as scruffy as his mother did at his age, though he had a darker colored pelt. He shared her “freckles” on his mussle but didn’t have her tuft of hair on top of his head; instead he grew small black fur on the tips of his ears. Jelani’s eyes were the same shade of gray as his rogue father, who had been accepted into the pride a year ago.

The tawny cub scoffed, “I had to deal with your crazy, clingy auntie. Mom won’t let me take one step without playing the twenty million question game. “He then wrinkled his nose up at Tanabi, “…And what do you mean I hit harder than a girl?
Have you ever been pinched by one, girls are vicious bloodthirsty demons!”

Tanabi nodded in agreement, “You’re right, Ayira tried to rip my throat out with her teeth.”

“I did not!” his sister said indignantly, “If I did, you deserved it for messing with me.”

The brown cub played it off, “Whatever helps you sleep at night, sis.” he smiled up at his parents, “Okay, I’m going now.”

“Not so fast,” Kiara said. “You have to take Ayira with you.”

“Mom!”

“Don’t start; you know the agreement we made. You don’t go anywhere without your sister.”

Ayira lowered her head, looking anxious. “A-actually, mom, I think I’d be okay by myself…really…”

Kiara smiled gently at her daughter and nuzzled her, “It’ll give you a little fun while I run some errands. I promise I’ll come get you after I’m done for a little girl time, okay?”

The orange female cub nodded, not too convinced either way. She looked to her dad but found that he seemed to have the same answer that her mom did, to go play with the other cubs.

“C’mon, Ayira, let’s go!”

“I’m coming…I’m coming…”

Kovu watched his small daughter leave with the two rowdy boys, her head and tail drooping with sadness. He waited until the three cubs were out of earshot before he voiced his concerns, “Do you think Ayira will be alright?”

“I think she’ll be fine. She has Tanabi with her.”

“I just hope she gets along with the other cubs this time,” Kovu replied, still concerned. Their daughter wasn’t exactly what you would call the most popular cub in the pride lands and had yet to make any friends. He wished he could help her in some way.

“We can’t always hold her paw, Kovu,” His mate told him gently. “The only way Ayira’s going to make friends is if she learns how to put herself out there.”

“I guess you’re right…” The young King said. Switching mental gears, he started to purr playfully and nuzzled closer up to
Kiara, “…And since we’re on the subject of being ‘friendly’ to others…the cubs are gone…there’s nobody around for miles…”

Kiara giggled at him and nuzzled back, “Just shut up and kiss me, you silly lion.”

Kovu’s eyes shined mischievously, “Whatever you say, your highness…”

OoOo

Meanwhile, Ayira sat off on her own and away from the other cubs. It was something she tended to do on an almost daily basis. It wasn’t that she was really shy; it was more like she didn’t really like what they did. They were too rowdy, too loud and too crazy for her. Sure, most cubs liked the adventure of fighting and creating mischief but Ayira really didn’t.
There were times where she tried to join in or was somewhat included in their games but the other cubs just kind of avoided her. Ayira felt happier when she was by herself, lost in her thoughts and watching nature. She was too focused on the butterfly she had tried to catch on her own to notice her twin brother getting ready to do something stupid with the other cubs cheering him on.

The group was always made up of the triplet sisters: Sita, Nane and Kumi, Jelani with Tanabi as the unofficial leader. The triplets looked almost completely identical with their dusty gray pelts and dark markings. However, Sita, the oldest of the sisters had orange colored eyes where her younger siblings simply had brown eyes. No matter how crazy Tanabi’s schemes got, you could be sure that the three sisters were right behind him, mostly because Sita was known to have a big crush on Tanabi.

“Almost…there…Got it! See, I told you I could do it! W-w-w-w-w-wait! Ah! Stop it!”

Ayira looked up when she heard a loud chorus of laughter from the group of cubs. Apparently, her brother decided it was a good idea to climb up a tree and mess with a nest of baby birds. Unfortunately for him, the mama bird didn’t take kindly to a weird ball of fluff invading her home so she started to peck at Tanabi’s head and chased him back and forth.

“Ah!! Ouch!! Jeez, guys, help me out here!” Tanabi yelled at the top of his lungs, frantically ducking his head and running around like a mentally challenged cub. “Jelani! Don’t just stand there!!”

“Alright! Alright! Stop yellin’ at me!”

Ayira watched as the bigger cub valiantly tried to keep up with Tanabi. When he caught up with them, Jelani did the most logical thing that anybody would think in a situation: he dive tackled Tanabi and the bird. It wasn’t long until both cubs lost their balance and toppled on top of each other in an awkward position. The mama bird tweeted angrily and pecked both boys again before deciding that they weren’t worth the energy, so she flew away.

“I’ll get you next time you feathered fiend!” Jelani snarled, shaking his paw at the bird.

Tanabi instantly slapped his paw down, looking around nervously, “Dude! Stop that! It might come back…”

“I told you it wouldn’t end well,” Nane giggled to her sisters. “Now look, they’re afraid of birds.”

Kumi nodded, “Tanabi better be glad Jelani helped him, we don’t want him to have any more brain damage than he already has.”

“I don’t think that it would change no matter what happened, Kumi.”

“Well, I think that Tanabi was very brave!” Sita defended Tanabi in admiration, “He was the bravest out of all of us to try and get that bird’s nest, none of ya’ll would have did it.”

“That’s right, tell them, Sita. I am pretty awesome,” Tanabi said with a smug grin while Sita blushed. “So since that game’s over, let’s explore that cave now. Who’s with me?”

“You know I’m in, Tanabi,” Sita said immediately and happily. “I’m sure you know all the coolest ways to get there.”

“Hellooo? What about me?” Jelani asked, a little put off, “I was the one who found the cave first. Where’s my ‘Oh, Jelani’ you’re so great’ speech?”

The gray cub rolled her eyes, “Please, you’re just lucky you found it.”

Kumi grinned, “I bet there’s a huge scary monster hiding deep inside the cave with huge teeth!”

“Yeah and it got huge red eyes and it probably smells like rotten eggs,” Nane said, imitating the sound of what she thought the monster sounded like.

“Tanabi, you know that we’re not allowed to go off of the path.” Ayira finally spoke up, alerting the other cubs. “Mom said it was against the rules.”

“Who was even talking to you?” Sita retorted back to the princess, “We didn’t ask you if you wanted to go. Just mind your business and go back to playing with your boring rock collection.”

“What Tanabi does is my business, he’s my brother. As future Queen of the pride lands, I must stop him from being bad at all times and that includes you too,” Ayira recited again, frowning. She didn’t understand why these cubs always had to break the rules, day after day and she really didn’t like Sita, she always had to be mean to her.

“But just imagine it, Ayira! We might discover some huge monster than nobody’s ever seen before or even some treasure,” Jelani tried to convince her. “I know you like to be really smart, isn’t it worth looking at?”

“Yeah, let’s explore the cave!”

“Let’s go!”

“No, we’d get in trouble,” Ayira said stubbornly again. “There’s plenty of things to do around here in the plains, our moms told us to stay here. If you don’t listen to me, I’m going to tell on you.”

The group of cubs scowled at her in annoyance before a few rolled their eyes at her. Tanabi motioned for his friends to move closer to him and soon they started to talk in very quiet whispers so that Ayira couldn’t hear them. The princess tried to join in their discussion but each time, Sita would try to block her way or the others would simply ignore her. At last, they started to separate from the circle and Tanabi smirked at his sister.

“EVERYBODY! RUN FOR IT!” Tanabi screamed at the top of his lungs before laughing and dashing off. Ayira watched in anger as each cub took off in different directions as fast as they could to get away from her.

“Hey! Stop it! I’m telling you to stop it!” Ayira yelled angrily.

She decided to chase after Sita, since she was the only one she could keep up with. Ayira tried to grab the gray cub by the tail by it wasn’t long until Sita got irritated by the fact that the princess wouldn’t leave her alone. Sita turned around and hit Ayira as hard as she could before running away.

The orange cub could only watch as Sita caught up with the others, each one of them laughing and cheering that they finally got away from her. Nobody cared that Sita had hurt her or even cared to check up on her, instead they just ran on like it was nothing. Ayira thought that she had saw Tanabi cast a worried glance over his shoulder but he was gone just like the others.

“Oww that really hurt...” Ayira whimpered, pressing her paw to her shoulder where Sita had cut her. At the sight of blood, Ayira started to cry. Tears of humiliation and hurt rolled down her cheeks, blurring her eye sight. Once she started, she couldn’t stop.

Queens don’t cry, Ayira told herself stubbornly, but it didn’t make her feel any better, in fact it made her feel even worse. It didn’t matter if she was the princess, nobody wanted to play with her. Everyone thought that she was a boring, wet blanket and she believed it.

Sadly, Ayira made her way back to where her parents were, hoping that at least someone would accept her. At least, her parents would try to play with her and try to make her feel better…but, that was no replacement for a real friend. She wished that she was more like Tanabi; she wanted to have fun too.

“Hey, are you alright?” a quiet voice asked.

“Go away!” Ayira demanded. She wasn’t in the mood to deal with anyone else by this point. She just wanted to be left alone.

The figure didn’t go away, however. Instead it sat down in front of her, tilting its head. As Ayira’s vision cleared, she realized that it was a small fluff ball of a dirty cheetah cub. The cheetah cub continued to look at her with its sympathetic brown eyes.

“I understand if you don’t want to talk, Princess,” the cheetah said sadly, tucking his ears behind his head.

“No, it’s not your fault…” Ayira sniffled reluctantly. “Wait, how did you know I was a princess…?”

“I heard that mean cub earlier, that’s all.” the cheetah cub replied smiling, “It’s pretty cool that I get to meet a real live princess.”

“Well, it’s not cool to everybody else,” Ayira muttered pitifully.

“Well, I say forget them,” the cheetah cub told her cheekily. “I’m bored and I need someone to play with. Come play with me, we’ll have more fun than they will ever have. What do you say?”

“Really?”

“Of course! Let’s go,” The cheetah cub said with a wink. “My name’s Mzuka, by the way.”

“And I’m Ayira,” Ayira told him cheerfully, her sadness now gone.

The next thing Ayira knew, the two of them were off on an adventure. They stayed on the path that her parents told her to stay on and played a few games like hide n’ seek and a new game that Ayira didn’t know named freeze tag. It was fun for the lonely princess and she finally felt that she had made a friend. They finally stopped playing when the sun in the sky almost completely melted into the background and some stars could be seen.

“Aww, I wish I didn’t have to go. I’m having fun,” Ayira giggled, completely out of breath. She flopped onto her belly beside her companion who was also exhausted from the day’s activities.

“Me too, princess,” Mzuka said playfully. “You were really getting good at catching me in the end. Didn’t you say your mom was coming to get you?”

Ayira nodded, “Yeah, if you thought that it was cool to meet a princess, I can’t imagine what you’ll be like when you see a queen! Maybe if you want, me and mom can walk you home. I’d like to see your mom too.”

Mzuka flinched uncomfortably, frowning. “Actually, I really don’t live around here…”

“It’s okay if you live far from here, my mom knows everywhere in the Pride Lands. She goes on patrols all the time with my dad.”

“No, that’s not what I mean,” the cheetah cub insisted. “I’m not from here, I live in another kingdom, today’s my first day in the Pride Lands.”

“Huh…there’s no way…” Ayira said with shock, “You’re just a cub like me. There’s no way you could have came here by yourself. You’re lying.”

The cheetah cub shrugged with a proud smile, “I’m not really by myself…I came with a friend. Unlike you guys who live in a pride, we like to live as rogues. One day when I’m old enough, I’ll be king of my own pride. I’ll probably be bigger than even your dad.”

It was Ayira’s time to laugh. Did her friend really think that he was a lion cub? “But you’re not a lion, Mzuka. You’re a cheetah. Boy, have you been pretending for too long today or something.”

The cheetah cub jumped up and scowled angrily, making Ayira take a few steps back in surprise. “I am too a lion! You take that back!”

“B-but you don’t look like—“ Ayira started to say but she decided to change her words, she didn’t want to hurt her new friend’s feelings any more. “I-I mean, you still have your spots…eheh…”

“Oh, you mean these?” Mzuka asked curiously, pointing at his dirt stained fur. “My dad says they’ll go away when I get older.”

“Or maybe because it’s just because you’re really, really dirty!” Ayira giggled. The princess came closer to him, smiling deviously. “I think I have just the idea to get you clean too.”

Mzuka looked at her weirdly, backing away, “What are you doing…eww no, don’t do that! Stop it!”

Ayira started to playfully lick Mzuka all over, laughing as the smaller cheetah cub burst into fit of giggles. He tried to wrestle away from her, but the princess had him pinned down and the two of them continued to laugh at how weird it was.

“Stop! Stop, Ayira! That tickles!”

“Never! You dirty, dirty boy!”

“Ayira!”

The two friends sat up at the voice. Ayira stopped and saw that her mother was coming towards them.

“Mom!” Ayira called out to Kiara, excitedly. “Look, Mzuka it’s my mom!”

“I guess that means I gotta go now too, Ayira.”

“Aww, really?” Ayira asked sadly, lowering her ears.

“Yeah, but don’t worry. Let’s meet up tomorrow, okay?” Mzuka told her, grinning. “Whaddya say?”

“Sure!”

“Okay then, see you later!” Mzuka said, disappearing into the tall grasses as fast as he could. Ayira blinked and shook her head, he sure was fast.

“There you are, Ayira. I was looking for you everywhere.” Kiara said happily, smiling as Ayira ran up to her and nuzzled her foreleg. “Did you have fun?”

Ayira hopped up and down on her paws, excitedly, “Guess what, mom. I finally made a friend!”

“That’s great, sweetie!” Kiara exclaimed with a bright smile. “I’m really happy for you! You’ve got to tell me everything on the way home.”

Of course, Ayira told her mom everything that happened. How she made her first friend, a strange little cheetah cub from a foreign land beyond the Pride Lands. She was so excited that she had forgot to tattle on Tanabi and the other cubs for being mean to her. It was a great day and she felt that it was going to be even better tomorrow.

Back then, everything was perfect in the Pride Lands.

[ScarsLove]

The first chapter really pulled me in! You're doing a fantastic job at this! Please write more! <3

[Chizuna]

Thanks DatLioness, to be honest, I thought that my first chapter would've been too boring. It's a relief that it wasn't .

Okay, on to the next chapter:

Chapter Three: Brother Vs. Sister

The young cub gasped out, struggling to get up. Her head was hurting so bad that the intangible waves of pain could be seen in her vision. Small droplets of blood fell from her jaw and mixed into the dirt that covered her tiny paws. She held back the tears. If she didn’t, it would happen to her all over again.

His huge shadow soon overwhelmed everything. There he was, the “King” standing over her with his sharp blue eyes piercing into her own. He gently cupped her face with one of his massive paws, so lightly that she could almost forget the deranged malice behind it.

“I know you must be hungry. Didn’t you notice the carcass I brought, it’s the biggest one that the lionesses could bring. It’s only the best for you, my dear.”

Her stomach rumbled. Whatever healthy baby fat she had was stripped away in the matter of a few weeks. However, despite the great hunger pains in her stomach, she remained quiet and trembled in place.

When the “King” was this nice, nothing else could be scarier.

“You have to know that you mean everything to me. I have searched forever to have you by my side. Only you can save me, sweetheart. There is nothing I wouldn’t sacrifice for your well being. Just have a little compassion for me, after all, only you can bring us to victory.”

She stared on into the distance, pretending that she was in a happier world. Tears slid down her cheeks and she weakly tried to keep her shoulders from shaking. His once affable smile morphed into a brutal snarl and he pinned her against the wall with a mighty roar.

“WHY DO YOU DEFY ME? WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY?”

The young cub whimpered in total fear as his claws pierced through her soft fur. He invaded her face with bulging and twitching eyes, his teeth bore a savage madness ready to rip her apart.

This would be the beginning of an interrogation that would last for the rest of the morning and well into the rest of her life.

OoOo

Boring...

Boring, boring, boring..
.
Tanabi sighed in irritation. It was one of those types of mornings he hated with every fiber of his being. One those mornings that could possibly destroy any little cub's soul.
It was raining.

At first, Tanabi wasn't worried. Despite the sky overhead looking a little grey here and there; it seemed like any normal day. Of course, it was more like he was wishing really hard that it would be like a normal day. For the second time in the little cub's life, the great kings of the past proved they had other things to do instead of keeping him happy.

Now, it was pouring, the ice cold rain looked like little ants flying out of the sky. The dark clouds above them started making loud rumbling noises and whenever it started to rain; the lionesses felt the need to stay inside which naturally included their cubs.

"This is so boring!" Tanabi complained to both of his parents, who looked down at their son in amusement."You guys can go outside all you want, so why can't I?"

"Your mom and I have to watch over the pride lands. You know that already Tanabi," Kovu replied to his son as he stood up, getting ready to go.

"And besides, why would you want to go play out in the wet mud anyways? It's disgusting!" Kovu made a pretend sick face and stuck out his tongue playfully. Tanabi was less than impressed.

"I thought you said mom doesn't run your life," Tanabi said flatly.

"And you have been hanging around your aunt Vitani way too much," Kovu said lightly, inwardly cringing. Lead it to 'Tani to put that type of thought into his mind. "But you're right; your mother doesn't have anything on me." he said cockily, puffing out his chest before he was interrupted by a slight cough behind him.

"What was that, Kovu?" Kiara demanded teasingly, her hazel eyes sparkling in dark cave. She sat down beside her mate and glared at him.

"Oh! Uh nothing!" Kovu amended sheepishly, giving Kiara a weak grin. Kiara laughed lightly.

"You are such a bad liar," the orange lioness replied cheekily to Kovu as he smiled wider and nuzzled her. She then directed her attention to her son, "Tanabi, stop bothering your dad. You could catch a cold in this weather or you could get dirty. I just cleaned you yesterday, young lion."

Tanabi frowned and mumbled under his breath, "That's not a very good reason."

Unfortunately for him, Kiara could hear him as clear as day.

"You want another reason? The reason is because I am your mother and I said so," Kiara shot back, getting mildly irritated. She was not in the mood to argue with Tanabi this morning.

"You'd best listen to your mother, master Tanabi. It's not very becoming of a young prince like yourself to talk back," reprimanded the snooty and proper voice of Zazu.

The tiny blue bird flew into the mouth of the den and landed gracefully at the paws of Tanabi's parents, soaked to the bone. Tanabi resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the majordomo, why did that bird always think everyone wanted to hear his opinion?

"Good morning Zazu. I hope you didn't have too hard of a time getting here," Kovu greeted him. Zazu scoffed.

"I wouldn't call this a good morning, especially with all this rain. But what can I say, duty calls," Zazu looked the two monarchs up and down like he was inspecting them. "I can only hope that the riff raff will stay in for the day. We don't want another repeat of yesterday, do we?"

Kiara sighed playfully, "Come on, Zazu. Don't be so hard on us, it was a long day. We were only having a little fun with the giraffes…"

"…And the days are only going to be longer from here on out. May I remind you that you are no longer a giggly air headed cub, Queen Kiara? That goes doubly for you sire, so stop snickering!"

The dark brown lion smirked at him, "Sorry Zaz. Well, we should probably get going so you can 'teach' us again, huh?"

Tanabi blew up his bangs in an audible huff. There the adults go again, blabbering on about who knows what and forgetting his much more important needs. He playfully yanked on his mom's foreleg to catch her attention, hoping that she would be distracted enough to change her mind about going outside.

"So does that mean I can go out an' play now? C'mon, I can help you be queen an' stuff." he asked hopefully, grinning up at his mom.

"Didn't I just say no to you a few seconds ago?"

"But mooom!" Tanabi whined, putting on his best puppy dog face. She couldn't resist the sad, pathetic look. "I'm gonna die of boredom in here! I'm gonna die and it'll be all you an' Dad's fault 'cuz I died."

He made a dramatic pause and his red eyes widened in shock."Oh no! It's already starting to happen! I can't breathe!" Tanabi clutched at his chest with his paw and started to breathe harder."Good-bye mom!"

He fell onto his back with a thud at his parents' paws, closing his eyes and letting his tongue fall to the side of his mouth.
"My, someone would make a great actor," Zazu noted dryly. The 'dead' Tanabi screwed up his face in annoyance and stuck his tongue out at the hornbill.

"Tanabi. If you are so bored why don't you go play with Jelani for a while? I'm pretty sure he's awake by now," Kovu suggested before he mentally smacked himself. Tanabi and Jelani? Together? That was as bad as telling his son it was okay to commit mass murder.

Before he could take back his statement, Tanabi leapt back onto his paws.

"Yeah! That'll be great!" Tanabi cried out excitedly; it was amazing how one word could bring somebody back to life.

"…Now, hold on a minute. You better promise me that you won't get into trouble while we're gone."

"Yeah, I promise," Tanabi said dismissively, rolling his eyes.

"Tanabi, I mean it this time. If I find out you have gotten into any trouble while your mom and I are gone, you won't be able to sit for a week."

Tanabi gulped and nodded slowly. Kovu, surprisingly, was more laid-back than Kiara. He rarely scolded Tanabi, but when he was angry… Tanabi doubted even an elephant could stand up to his dad. The last time he got into trouble was a couple of days ago, but it wasn't really his fault. Nobody told him that fire ants weren't allowed in the caves.

"Okay then, since we've gotten that out of the way. See ya later kiddo," Kovu said cheerfully again; his dark mood gone.

Tanabi rubbed up against his father and purred softly as his way of telling his father good-bye and did the same for his mother before going to where Jelani was staying.

However, Tanabi made a little pit stop to find his sister.

OooO

Sis' still asleep? She ain't gonna be for long, Tanabi snickered to himself as he started to tip toe up to the sleeping cub, who was currently snoring and oblivious to her surroundings.

The young prince accidentally kicked a small pebble with his paw and Ayira stirred but settled back down. Sighing in relief, he got to where the orange cub was and put one of his paws on her. He slowly turned the princess on her back.

"Ayira? Ayira? Wake up," Tanabi whispered into the cub's ear, which flicked slightly. She wrinkled up her nose and opened up one very tired green eye.

"Do you wanna lose that paw?" Ayira snarled fiercely at her brother, almost in a demonic tone of voice. Tanabi jumped back in fright and shock, too afraid to say anything. He decided to leave his sister alone.

He walked further into the den where most of the lionesses would stay and talk. Many of the lionesses smiled brightly at the young prince, offering their good mornings to him. He grinned as he saw three familiar faces lying around lazily in the back of the cave. His grandma Nala was chatting with his aunt Vitani while his best friend Jelani was struggling out of a bath.

Vitani had the cub pinned down pretty good though and was throughly cleaning him, gving him a few hard looks in response to his whining.

"But I wanna go outside," said a young cub to his mother who rolled her blue eyes in annoyance. "C'mon mom, be a rebel!"

"What you want and what you are going to get are two totally different things," the rugged lioness retorted back, not missing a beat. "And if you keep on arguing with me, you're going to be missing a pair of lips."

Tanabi snickered slightly, "Good morning Aunt 'Tani! Good morning Grandma!"

"Mornin' squirt," Vitani replied back to Tanabi with a small smile on her face.

"Good morning Tanabi," Nala said sweetly, following up with a yawn.

To Tanabi, his aunt and grandma couldn't've looked any different. His aunt, who was young like his mother, looked a lot like most of the pride, tough and almost masculine with her scruffy dull mustard colored fur. His grandma Nala looked her complete opposite and represented what the other half of the pride looked like, she was move heavier set than Vitani and had a smooth light beige almost white colored fur that shone in the sunlight. Even their eyes, which were various shades of blue, held some many differences and secrets that Tanabi couldn't understand. Vitani's were deep and quick like lightning, they looked like they were studying every move you made but grandma Nala's were just pools of aquamarine calmness.

"Lo Tanabi, wanna fight?" asked Jelani as he jumped in front of the prince, snarling playfully.

"You know it!" Tanabi growled back as he threw himself at Jelani, catching the cub at his side.

Jelani yelped in surprise and lashed out with his hind legs, launching Tanabi off of him. The tawny cub then pounced him, pinning him to the ground and started to gnaw on Tanabi's ear. Tanabi snarled and shoved him off with his forelegs.
The next thing they knew, the two cubs went tumbling around in a tangle of limbs, paws, claws and tails with Jelani eventually winding up on top. Tanabi squirmed out of his tight spot, swiping at his rival, laughing.

"Hey, stop it you two, you could hurt someone!" Nala warned.

Vitani chuckled wryly. "Don't worry Nala, I got this," she took a deep breath and then said very loudly. "OI! YOU FURBALLS BETTER STOP FIGHTING BEFORE I KNOCK THE BOTH OF YA OUT!"

Just like that, Tanabi and Jelani froze in place, eyes wide from shock. Smirking at the two of them, Vitani sat back down next to Nala.

"I'm impressed," Nala said as she raised an eyebrow at the tawny lioness who shrugged.

"Hey, it's a gift. You have to keep your cubs reigned in some how."

"Well, that was fun while it lasted," Jelani said with a sigh. "What are we supposed to do now?"

"I dunno, you're usually the idea guy," Tanabi quipped. Suddenly, a sneaky plan formed into his mind and he grinned brightly. "…Hey grandma, can me an' Jelani go somewhere?"

"No."

"Oh, haha, I get it. You old lionesses and your stupid manners or whatever. May Jelani and I go somewhere?"

"No, Tanabi."

"Aww c'mon grandma," he complained. "You ain't even tryin to listen to where I wanna go."

"I'm an old lioness, remember? It's not my fault my ears aren't as they used to be," Nala teased dryly. "But alright, try me."
"We just wanna go visit Kutu for a while, right Jelani?"

"Kutu? Why are we going to see her?" Jelani blurted out incredulously, making a face. Tanabi jabbed him hard in his side. "Ouch...Oh yeah, Kutu...Yeah haven't played with her in a long time." Jelani quickly flashed a grin back at his mother and Nala.

"Mhm sure. I believe that for a second," Nala said playfully, leaning into the two cubs faces. "Where do you really want to go, not anywhere where you could cause any trouble, right?"

"Trouble? What trouble?" Tanabi and Jelani replied simultaneously, grinning innocently from ear to ear.

"It's okay Nala. They can go," Vitani relented as the two cubs cheered but then raised her voice. "'Cause Jelani knows if he does something he isn't supposed to, his dad'll skin him alive."

The two cubs made sure they had gotten outside of Vitani and Nala's earshot before they decided to talk again.

"We're not really going to see Kutu, are we?"

"…Where have you been? We're gonna go play outside."

"Really," Jelani dead panned. "And how exactly are we going to do that with all of the paranoid lionesses around?"

"There's a hole in my parents' cave that we can squeeze through," Tanabi bragged, his red eyes dancing wickedly. "It goes through the back way and nobody will know we're even gone. Sometimes I even sneak out at night when my folks are asleep."

"You are so bad," Jelani said with a smirk as he patted his friend on the back. "I like your style."

"I know I'm bad," Tanabi said proudly as they found his parents' sleeping spot. He grinned as he spotted the small hole in the rocky wall.

Unknown to him however, this was the same hole his own mother snuck out of, all of those months ago to go find his father on the eve of the Battle of Reunion. Tanabi nudged his head in the direction of the hole, urging Jelani to go ahead and crawl through.

"What do you think you are doing?" Ayira demanded as they turned around, scowling at the both of them.

"It's none of your business," Tanabi snapped. "So just leave us alone."

"You were thinking about sneaking out, weren't you?" Ayira shot back angrily, "I'm telling Aunt Vitani!"

Tanabi rolled his eyes at her and scoffed, "Go ahead. I want you to tell," his voice then got angrier. "I'm tired of you always bossing me around. You're not my mom!"

"Somebody has to be around here. You are acting out of control!"

"Shut up Ayira. You're not queen yet. So stop tryin' to run my life. And you wonder why you don't have any friends."

"I do have friends!" Ayira protested. Her voice rose as the fur on her back started bristling. "Don't even start it with me, Tanabi!"

"Why not? You know it's true," Tanabi retorted, getting more aggravated. He then started to walk in front of Ayira, speaking in a high falsetto voice "Oh, look at me! I'm Ayira; I think I'm so perfect. And I am perfect, sooooooo perfect that nobody even likes me!"

"Stop it!" Ayira warned; hurt starting to show in her eyes, "I hate you!"

"No, I won't! You started it so you're gonna shut up an' take it," Tanabi snapped, glowering into his sister's face.

Ayira glared back at him before breaking eye contact. The orange cub then turned around and ran away, looking like she was about to cry.

Tanabi watched as she ran off, sighing bitterly. He didn't want to say all those mean things to Ayira but she was really getting on his nerves. The brown cub then decided to ignore her and crawl up under the hole anyways but stopped as he noticed Jelani looking at him with wide eyes.

"What?" snapped Tanabi.

"Dude...that was harsh," Jelani said softly.

"And you're point is? You want me to start on you too?" Tanabi said irritably. Jelani lowered his ears. Feeling even worse, Tanabi snapped again, "Are you coming or you just gonna sit there?"

Jelani nodded reluctantly. With that, Tanabi and Jelani went through the hole in the cave wall, not looking back.

….

"I can't believe it was that easy," Jelani exclaimed as he finally got through the hole.

Tanabi rolled his eyes at his companion, still in a bad mood. "Of course it was, Jelani. Stop actin' like a little cub."

"Hey, hey! Don't get all mad with me 'cause you feel bad about yelling at your sister," Jelani remarked off-handily as he idly played with his tail.

"I'm not upset Jelani," Tanabi snapped at the dark tawny cub before letting out a sigh. He averted his eyes as Jelani started smirking at him.

"C'mon Tanabi, I know you better than anyone else," said Jelani. "Just cheer up; at least you got rid of her."

"But I didn't have to be so mean about it," Tanabi murmured, lowering his ears. "I didn't mean to get so angry at her but she is can be so annoying. What's her problem anyways?"

Jelani put a comforting paw on Tanabi's shoulder.

"Tanabi, Tanabi, Tanabi," Jelani said slowly, a wry grin spreading on his maw. "Don't you know all lionesses act like this? She'll get over it, don't worry. Ayira is just acting out 'cause she's a girl and she can't handle the truth."

Tanabi eyed Jelani weirdly, "I wouldn't say that around your mom if I were you."

Jelani frowned. "But that just makes me more right. My dad says that to me all the time and the last time he said that to Mom, she kicked him out of the den. Tanabi, girls are crazy."

Tanabi chuckled as he wryly shook his head; leave it to Jelani to say something like that. "You're right Jelani. I need to cheer up," he scooped up a paw full of icky, gooey mud and threw it at Jelani's face. Laughing, he flicked Jelani on the forehead and backed away with a grin. "Tag you're it!"

Jelani stood there for a couple of seconds, jaw slack and eyes bugged out, mud dripping from his muzzle and ears. The young prince continued to snicker at his friend, backing away very slowly, waiting for Jelani to react. The scruffy older cub blinked before breaking out into a wide smirk.

"You're so going to pay for that Tanabi!" Jelani said, after the brown cub took off in a run. It didn't take Jelani long to catch up with his friend due to his longer limbs.

"Not fair Jelani! I'm not as big as you are," Tanabi protested.

"Aww, poor little cub! Here, have a mud pie!" Jelani teased as he swiped some mud into Tanabi's eyes, making the young prince gasp in surprise.

Jelani was still laughing when a mud ball squarely hit the back of his head. Eyes widening, he turned to a mischievous Tanabi who was sticking his tongue out.

"Gotcha!" Tanabi said laughing at his friend who started growling, his gray eyes flashing with playfulness.

"You do realize I'm goin to kill you now, don't you?"

"Bring it on!"

Jelani and Tanabi whooped and hollered loudly as they slid on the soggy grass, zooming on by. The cold feeling of the rain on his paws and on his body was exhilarating to Tanabi. Suddenly, velocity stopped being their friend and the two cubs fell face flat onto the muddy ground before them. Sitting back up with cold mud plastered all over their faces, Tanabi and Jelani continued giggling without stopping.

"Man! This is so much fun!" Jelani cried out as loud as he could. He then started coughing, "Yuck! I think I got some mud in my mouth!"

Tanabi grinned at his friend, trying not to laugh at him. All of the laughing and fun they were having was hurting his ribs. "I told you, Jelani. And you were all scared."

Jelani collapsed in to a heap in the mud, forelegs and hind legs spread out. He then started to move his limbs back and forth, side to side, as he was making a little cub angel in the mud.

"I have a right to be afraid. If my mom finds out about this, I'm done for," Jelani then gave Tanabi a critical look and said flatly," And if my mother finds me out here, I will kill you Tanabi."

Tanabi scoffed. "Pssh. Yeah right," he replied as he shook off the rain off of his body. "I thought you said you weren't afraid of your mother."

Jelani stood up, mud and gunk sliding off of him. With all of the dark mud coating his pelt, he looked more like a mud monster instead of a lion cub. The mud made his brilliant gray eyes stand out even more, but it made him look ridiculous.

"And I'm not. But there is a difference between having a healthy repsect for your mother and being afraid of her," He wrinkled up his nose in confusion. "...Whatever that means. My dad says it a lot but he's more afraid of her than anything else."

"What're you talking about? Aunt Tani equals scary," Tanabi replied, "Relax Jelani, we're so far out here, nobody'll find us."
"Where are we anyways? I can't even see Pride Rock anymore."

Tanabi shrugged. After all of the traveling they had been doing during their playing, Tanabi had lost track but he didn't care, they'd find their way home somehow. Curiously, he walked next to the edge of the small hill they had been standing on and looked out to the horizon. He could barely make out the scenery with all of the rain blurring his eye sight, but he could see the mist and most of the barren, twisted trees.

"I think we're near the outlands," Jelani said to his friend, whose eyes grew wide.

"No way! That's so awesome!" Tanabi exclaimed as he sat beside Jelani, peering precariously on the edge to see. "I wonder what's out there?"

"You're not thinking about going out there, are you?"

"And why not? Your dad and my mom were outlanders. Heck, even our grandma was queen of the outlands and they turned out okay! Don't tell me that you of all lions are turning into a scardey-cub..."

"I'm not," Jelani protested, squirming uncomfortably. "There's something really spooky about that place. I don't like it...and 'sides how would you get across that river?"

"Oh yeah. I forgot about that."

The two cubs looked down at the river below them. Usually it was just pretty deep, but now the dark waters were moving too fast for the eyes to see. They winced as a stick that was bobbing up and down, got snapped in half by the currents, pushing it into a sharp rock on the riverbed. It didn't help knowing that they were standing right above it.

"C'mon Jelani, let's go home. I'm pretty sure Ayira has already squealed on us," Tanabi said cheerfully, in order to clear up the bad vibes he was getting. He turned around to go.

"Yeah, who would wanna swim in that river?" Jelani asked rhetorically as he stood up to follow Tanabi.

Suddenly, Jelani got his answer when the ground underneath them collapsed and the two cubs plummeted into the river below.

For the first time in Tanabi's life, time froze.

[ScarsLove]

Oh no! I hope someone comes to the rescue soon!

[Chizuna]

Me too, DatLioness, me too .

On to the next chappie

Chapter Four: The Deadly River


He didn't remember when he and Jelani hit the river below them. How the impact of their fall almost drowned them instantly. He didn't even remember any of their terrified screams and roars as he was swiftly pulled away by the river's currents.

But Tanabi did remember waking up.

The first thing he saw was light brown water floating all around him. The rippling of light above and the movement of the water made it almost too surreal for Tanabi to believe that he was still alive. He was flailing around frantically, forelegs and hind legs trying to grasp for the surface. His movements were so sluggish and slow almost as if time had stopped completely. As muted sound continued to pop in and out of his ears, Tanabi swore that it was like watching some other cub drowning.

Suddenly, reality came calling and a huge blast of sound hit him as his head finally popped up from the raging river. The brown cub exhaled so much in desperation to catch a sliver of air that he started to choke. He spluttered and coughed as the icy water invaded his nose and eyes, setting everything on fire.

"Help! Help!" Tanabi screamed in agony. His head hit the water again and popped back up, "Heeeeeeeelp!"

"TANABI! Help me!"

This blood curling cry struck a nerve and sent Tanabi spiraling into complete panic.

Oh crap, Jelani! he thought as he caught Jelani, a good distance in front of him, splashing around frantically in the water.

The golden cub held such a wild look in his gray eyes that Tanabi thought that Jelani couldn't even see anymore. His breath was held hostage in his throat as he saw the golden cub go under.

The sight of his stronger friend panicking was unnerving. If he didn't help Jelani, then they were both dead. He tried to push himself as hard as he could, he didn't want to die. He really didn't want to die here.

"I'm coming Jelani!" the prince shouted back over the current, struggling to keep up.

The rush of the river hit his face at full force and he let out a shocked roar. Coughing spasmodically, heart thundering loudly in his ears, he screamed out for somebody, anybody, to help him.

"Somebody! HEEEEELP! DAD! Heeeelp us!"

But the brown cub knew in his heart it was hopeless, no one was coming. They had gone too far out and nobody could hear or even see them. Despair and fear took control of his body as thoughts of his death, his parents and lastly Ayira's hurt face flashed throughout his mind.

OoO

Meanwhile, Ayira was safe and warm back in the den. She had cheered up considerably and had discovered a new game to play by herself. Collecting a few tiny pebbles from around the cave, Ayira had bunched them up into a circle. Using another pebble, she would try to knock each one out of the circle by whacking it with her tail.

It might have not been the most fun thing to chase after the pebble when it bounced off the walls but she almost forgotten all about her stupid brother. If Tanabi had fallen off a huge cliff or got stuck somewhere, she wouldn’t care at all. He deserved everything that he got.

She was almost done with the last remaining pebble when she accidently hit it too hard, launching it against the wall again. The princess chased after it but stopped as soon as she came face to face with Sita and her sisters.

“What’re you doing?”the gray cub asked, wrinkling her nose up scornfully.

Ayira half-ignored the attitude she was getting from the other cub and brushed past her, “I’m playing a game. Now if you can excuse me, Sita, I want to finish.”

“You are so frickin weird, only you would do something as lame as play with some dumb rocks.” Sita told her, trying to get a rise out of Ayira.

But Ayira continued to ignore the cub, just like her parents told her to do. After the incident where Sita had scratched her, Kovu had told his daughter the best way to deal with bullies was to ignore them and walk away. So far it was working and Ayira was inwardly laughing at the frustrated faces that Sita was making.

Kumi and Nane, however, were watching Ayira’s game with curiosity as she launched the pebble a few more times.

Sita faked a yawn and rolled her eyes, “This is so dumb. C’mon let’s go guys and leave the weirdo.”

“But sis…it looks kinda..fun..” Kumi told her with a smile. “You can go if you want, though.”

“Yeah, I wanna learn how to play.” Nane said excitedly, sitting down beside Ayira. “So can we play too, Ayira?”

“’Course you can,” Ayira told them cheerfully, grinning wider when Sita narrowed her eyes at her. “It goes something like th---“

Before she could even start teaching them, a huge lightning bolt split the sky. The cubs gasped out as they watched from the safety of the cave as similar veins of light struck the earth. Loud, exploding sounds of thunder soon followed after and the rain became heavier, slamming against the ceiling of Pride Rock.

“W-wow..that’s s-scary,” Kumi squeaked out, terrified. She hid her head underneath her paws.

“Yeah,” Ayira murmured.

She instantly thought of Tanabi and Jelani out there in the storm and it made her squirm. She tried to push it out of her mind, maybe the two stupid heads would be fine.

Suddenly, Ayira felt a sharp pain shoot through her head. A very loud and familiar voice started calling for her and it echoed throughout her ears.

Somebody! HEEEEELP! DAD! Heeeelp us!

Tanabi…? What the…? Ayira thought to herself, terrified and very confused. She didn't understand why she heard him or why in the world he could possibly be calling out for help. The princess tried to ignore it and thought it was just her imagination.

Another harsh wave of pain hit her head as Tanabi's panicking voice got louder and repeated itself.

HEEEEEEEELP!

This rung the alarm bells off in her heart. There was no way Ayira was going to ignore his voice the second time around. Somewhere out in the storm, Tanabi was in big trouble and he was calling out for someone to save him. Worriedly, Ayira snapped her attention to the sisters.

“Sorry guys, we can play some other time…I gotta find my grandma..” Ayira said apologetically and worriedly. She didn’t give the cubs to ask any questions as she quickly ran away from them as fast as she could.

It didn't take long for the princess to find her grandma as she was still in her same spot from earlier this morning, taking a nap next to Vitani. Ayira frantically shook the lioness, not caring if her grandma was going to get mad at her for it.

Nala woke up from her catnap, yawning lazily, "Whoa, where's the fire Ayira…?"

"It's Tanabi and Jelani! They ran away from Pride Rock!"

The beige lioness sat up puzzled, her lack of sleep now gone, "What do you mean they ran away? You're telling me they're out there in that storm?"

"Whass goin' on, Nala?" Vitani slurred.

"Tanabi and Jelani left Pride Rock!!!"

"What?" the former outlander exclaimed, frowning. "Why didn't you tell anyone about this earlier, Ayira? How long have they been gone?"

Nala shook her head anxiously, standing up. "It doesn't matter how long they've been gone, what matters is that we find them. Oh, I hope they didn't get hurt out there…"

"They're gonna be fine," Vitani reassured her. "We'll go together, that will help cover more ground." she turned to Ayira, "Ayira, I need you to stay here."

"But I want to come too!" Ayira announced.

"No, you're not." Vitani told her firmly, "Stay here and do what you're told. We can't risk you getting hurt out there."

"Please let me go with you aunt Vitani, I promise I won't get in your way," Ayira pleaded, her face set in determination. "Tanabi's my brother and if he's hurt, I don't know what I'd do. I just wanna help find him and see if he's okay."

Nala let out a soft laugh despite herself, "Looks like stubbornness runs in the family."

Vitani sighed and rolled her eyes, "Oh, alright. You can come, but stay behind me at all times."

"Thank you, Aunt Vitani."

Nala, Vitani and Ayira ran out of the den and into the storm; the rain and wind attacking them in a barrage. It was chaotic but Ayira tried her hardest to stay by her aunt's side like she was told to do. Only one thing was on her mind. Finding Tanabi and bring him home.

Don't worry Tanabi, we're on our way. Ayira thought anxiously as she ran. Just hold on!

~*OooO*~

It felt like it was forever since Tanabi and Jelani had been in the river and each passing moment was as terrifying as the last. They were trying so hard to fight for their lives but the fact that their efforts and struggles had done nothing so far was absolutely frustrating to Tanabi. Each minute that drew closer made Tanabi want to give up fighting and just let the stupid river drown them.

Eventually, the brown cub made a breakthrough and managed to push himself over to where Jelani was. A surge of relief washed over his body and gave him a false sense of renewed security. If the two of them were together, maybe they could survive after all!

"Jelani!" he cried out relieved, his head bobbing up and down in the water. "It's okay Jelani! I'm here!"

His friend swiftly proved to him that he was dead wrong in believing it was okay. Jelani's face was still contorted with pure horror. The tawny cub frantically swam towards him with his claws outstretched. He dug his claws into Tanabi's head and body, clinging on to him with all of his strength.

"Jelani!" Tanabi yelped in pain and complete disbelief. His friend was actually trying to shove him back into the water! "JELANI! What are you…?"

The cub's terrified scream was cut off as he was dunked into the icy river. He could feel his friend's weight completely holding him down and he knew that Jelani had managed to wrestle his way onto his back. Tanabi wrestled and kicked out his limbs to try and throw Jelani off but it was no use. Blackness started to consume his vision as he started to lose air.

Suddenly, a red hot feeling engulfed his body. He didn't want to die. He wasn't going to die. He wanted to fight Jelani.

Tanabi started to wrestle with Jelani harder. Eventually he shot his head up as high as he could to the surface, connecting solidly with Jelani's mussle. The tawny cub let out a cry of pain as Tanabi rose up again.

"Get off of me!" Tanabi roared as he gasped for breath. "Get off of me, Jelani!"

He lashed out, shoving Jelani off of him. Jelani fought back in his panic crazed state, trying to grab a hold of Tanabi again but the prince only shoved harder with his claws. Eventually, Jelani grew tired of fighting Tanabi and he returned to incomprehensible screaming and splashing. Tanabi swam out of Jelani's reach, mind racing and eyes darting back and forth for anything to grab a hold of.

There's gotta be something! Tanabi thought as he looked around, grateful for the moment of clarity that his adrenaline gave him. If we only had a rock!

Finally, the answer to his prayers caught his eyes. A huge log was lodged between a boulder on Tanabi's side, rapidly approaching them. He stirred himself into a good enough position to catch the log with his claws and by some miracle; the young prince was able to grab onto the rough back. Pulling himself up with all of his strength, Tanabi climbed on to the slippery surface of the log.At first, he felt as if he was going to slip off again but he managed to regain his balance and jump onto the boulder.

Panting, Tanabi directed his attention back to Jelani, he wasn't going to let his friend die. "C'mon Jelani! Swim over here!"

"I can't!" Jelani screamed pathetically.

"Just try!!" the brown cub exploded at Jelani, his heart racing against his chest. He was exhausted and extremely worried. If Jelani couldn't get to the other side, there was no way that Tanabi could go back out and get him.

The tawny cub started to make an effort, swimming toward Tanabi. An extremely happy feeling jumped into Tanabi's heart as he saw Jelani getting closer and closer to him. He was going to make it.

"It's okay Jelani! It's okay! You can make it!" Tanabi cheered on soothingly, his voice teetering on desperate and breaking as Jelani got closer to the log.

Jelani did exactly what Tanabi did and miraculously able to catch his claws on the log. Once Jelani got his upper body on the log, Tanabi didn't hesitate to yanking him with all of his might up on to the boulder. Panting, the two got off of the boulder to the other side to dry land.

Tanabi collapsed on the muddy ground, his exhausted body finally collapsed on him and turned into jell-o. He closed his eyes and took in hard, long breaths of air. A tired chuckle came in between the gasps of air, they made it! They were alive!

He didn't know why it was so funny, maybe all of the river water had made him a crazy nutjob and maybe he should be more worried about the fact that Jelani was throwing up loudly beside him but he didn't care! They were alive!

"Only you would find this funny…moron…" Jelani teased hoarsely, "How are you holding out…?"

"I'm fine, Jelani. How 'bout you?" Tanabi whispered, his throat hurt too much for anything more. He waited until Jelani finished coughing up more water to get another response.

"Never been better," Jelani rasped sarcastically, when he caught his breath again. "I never, ever, want to see water again."

Tanabi laughed, "Me neither. Man, I thought the river was bad, just wait til your mama sees us!"

Jelani grew very quiet for a moment and Tanabi frowned concerned, "What's up, Jelani? You hurtin' somewhere?"

The tawny cub lowered his ears and turned his head away, "Tanabi, I am so sorry. I-I tried to pull you down back there. I didn't mean to!"

"It's okay."

"But I could have killed you! And it would have been all my fault!"

Tanabi shook his head at Jelani, smiling, "Jelani, calm down buddy! I know you didn't mean any of it! We both were actin' crazy out there. You're still my best friend and that's all that matters."

Jelani returned his smile and the brown cub wanted so bad to give him a much needed hug right then. He wasn't going to hold it against Jelani, Tanabi knew that Jelani wouldn't have done that in any other situation so it didn't matter anymore. But that didn't mean Tanabi was going to forget the pictures of Jelani on top of him or anything that happened today.

Tanabi shook that thought out of his head. He didn't want to remember any of it. Boy; was he going to have nightmares tonight.

"Jelani! Tanabi!"

The two cubs lifted their heads to see Ayira running to their sides with Nala and Vitani. Tanabi, for once, was relieved to know that his sister told on them. He struggled to sit up as Ayira walked up to him and threw her paws around him in a hug, squeezing the life out of him.

"Don't ever scare me like that again, Tanabi!" Ayira told him, "I was really worried for you!"

Tanabi grinned, croaking, "Yeah, I can tell sis an' I love you too, but can you stop choking me? I kinda need to breathe here."

"I'm so glad you're safe," Nala said, giving him an affectionate lick but was obviously still worried. "We've been looking everywhere for you two…What happened?" Tanabi dropped his smile instantly and pulled away from Ayira.

Jelani spoke up for him quietly, "Well, you see…we-we were playing near the outlands and we kinda…fell in the river…"

"You did what?" Vitani asked in disbelief. The tan lioness then frowned angrily," We've told you time and time again not to go anywhere near the outlands! And now you know why! Just wait until your father finds out about this."

"It wasn't his fault!" Tanabi cried. He thought maybe if he was honest, his own punishment wouldn't be as bad as Jelani's. " I told him to come play with me outside!"

"Oh, trust me, I've already told your parents everything Tanabi," Nala replied back to him, sternly. "I think you need to worry more about yourself."

Aww, heck. That didn't work like I thought it, would. Tanabi gulped.

He could see the look on his dad's angry face already. His dad was not going to be a happy lion when he comes back from his rounds and seeing his son looking like a deranged fluff ball once he got dried off. There was only on way for him to escape the wrath of his daddy and it was worth a try.

Tanabi grinned sheepishly at his grandma, "Is it too late for me to jump back into the river?"

"Ha ha," Nala replied dryly. She nudged the soggy brown cub, "C'mon, let's get you out of this rain, you must be freezing."

He nodded and tried to stand, his limbs were wobbly and shaking from exhaustion. Tanabi let out a short yawn; all he wanted to do was sleep. Nala gently plucked the tired cub up from the ground by the nape of his neck with her jaws and placed him onto her back. Tanabi shifted some to get into a more comfortable position, burying his face into his grandmother's soft fur.

The next thing he knew, he was out like a light.

~*OooO*~

When Tanabi woke up, he found that his whole body was numb and that his throat was on fire. He sat up and coughed harshly a few times, the nasty taste of icy water came back to his mouth and nose. Tanabi made a face, he better not be sick after all he just went through.

"See? I told you to stay home," Ayira teased lightly. "But no, you just had to go play in the storm."

Tanabi sniffled and scowled at her, "Hey, be nice to the sick cub here. Have a heart."

The orange cub pointed at her chest, "Hey, I already have one so don't be silly," she giggled as Tanabi cut his eyes at her lame attempt at a joke. "Really, Tanabi, I was worried about you. I thought something bad was going to happen, like you getting hit by lightning."

He shuddered, "Yeah, it was crazy…thanks for telling Grandma and Aunt Vitani. I'm sorry, Ayira."

Ayira shrugged and gave a tiny smile, "It's okay. I guess I'm sorry too, I was being a little bossy."

"A little?"

"Yes, Tanabi. A little, that's what I said. Good boy."

Tanabi rolled his eyes playfully, "Whatever and just to think that I was about to say you ain't that bad of a sister. I must be sicker than I thought."

"Must be."

The twins giggled at each other. It felt good to Tanabi, knowing that they had made up...in a weird love hate kind of way. He stopped laughing, however, as he saw their parents run up to him with worry in their eyes.

Play dead, dummy! Go back to sleep! Do something so you don't have to talk to them! was what the rational side of Tanabi screamed at him.

But instead he just sat there and mumbled under his breath, "Oh no..."

Kiara scooped Tanabi into her paws that instant she could, fussing quickly, "I was so worried about you! Lemme get a look at you, you look fine. Did you hurt yourself? You look a little feverish, are you feeling okay? Where did you get those scratches? Wait, you already had those scratches...why didn't we take care of those scratches before...ohhhh, I heard they can get infected..."

"I'm fine, mom..." Tanabi interrupted, jumping out of her paws. "Sheesh, I only almost drowned."

Kovu, who was beside her, nodded, " It's okay hon, take a deep breath. Tanabi's alright."

"I know, it's just...I was so afraid," the honey furred lioness replied in relief. She then frowned at her son, "Just what were you thinking, Tanabi? You and Jelani could have died out there!"

Tanabi flinched at his mom's sudden harsh tone, "I-I dunno...we didn't mean to fall in the river, mom."

"That's not the point, Tanabi," Kovu told him sternly, "You know better than to sneak off on your own and you directly disobeyed us, again. How many times do we have to tell you to listen to us before you actually listen?
"
"Only once..." the brown cub responded in a very meek voice, lowering his ears in shame. He knew he was going to get it now, the look on his dad's face said it all.

His dad sighed, "Son, we don't tell you these things to be mean, we just don't want you to get hurt. Do you understand?"

Tanabi nodded numbly and the brown lion's face softened considerebly and he drew Tanabi closer to him with his paw, "Tanabi: you and Ayira mean the world to your mother and I. If something happened to you...I don't know what I'd do...you both are so precious to me."

Tanabi looked up at his dad, eyes shining with unshed tears. He didn't think of it like that, what he was doing hurt his daddy as well.

"Your father's right, we love you and Ayira so much," Kiara told him, licking his cheek playfully, trying to make everything better. "We don't want to lose you. I know you don't mean to worry us and you're trying to have fun but everything you do has consequences. We just want you to remember that and listen to us."

"Okay, mom."

Kovu nuzzled his small cub, grinning, "That's all we want, little guy. It's not that hard. Now, to make sure that you don't wind up doing this again, we got a special punishment for you this time."

"I know...I know...I'm grounded again, ain't I?"

"Oh, you're grounded alright," Kiara told him with a hint of amusement in her voice. "But on top of that, we got you a cubsitter. I know you and Zazu will become such great friends next week."

Tanabi's jaw fell and he stared at his parents like they had sprouted three more heads. This was their idea of a punishment? Forcing him to spend a whole week trapped in the den with that snobby talkative bird? No. That wasn't right; maybe he heard it all wrong.

"...What?" he asked dumbstruck.

"You're stuck with Zazu for a week, smartness," Ayira told him dryly.

The brown cub just sat there for a few awkward moments. This was not happening to him.

OoO

The quiet magic of night filtered throughout the Pride Lands. Everyone in Pride Rock had fallen under the deep trance of slumber easily due to the long boring day of rain. However, not every animal outside of Pride Rock had done the same. Some had taken this chance to come alive now and skulk amongst the shadows.

Four figures hid in the cover of night with maliciousness, the darkness seemingly enhancing their wicked thoughts. Their steely gazes remained fixated on the majestic Pride Rock itself. Nobody knew where they came from or even who they were but the murkiness of night had shrouded them with the gift of anonymity.

“There it is; our target.”

“I can’t wait to slaughter them all…” one voice growled in a zealous whisper, “Their blood will fall in the glory of our King…”

“Patience, idiot...” another one, almost cub like demanded. “We can allow them time to continue pretending like they are safe in their little kingdom…nothing’s better than to play with your victims..”

“Of course, we should always carry ourselves in the same manner as our great King…after all; we had given him our will to bring him to victory…”

The cub smiled smugly, “That’s what I like to hear…we’ll strike when the time is right…”

The three figures bowed at the paws of their younger member. A smirk came to its muzzle.

“Soon…Father…soon enough, your collection will be almost complete…”

[ScarsLove]

Oooh, the suspense