Deep in the Outlands, Janja and his hyena clan arrived back at their lava-spewing volcano home. Before them, the bubbling, incinerating lava pool sprung to life, shooting high into the sky.
"Um, Janja?" Cheezi, a rather dim-witted yet nervous hyena, asked his leader. "What are we gonna tell Scar again?"
"Relax, fur brain." Janja replied as he stepped forward onto a rocky platform, overlooking the volcano's crater. "I've got this."
The lava soon bubbled higher and, with one magnificent eruption, formed the shape of a lion's head, all from fire and smoke. A single, glowing cut slashed down its left eye.
This was Scar.
"Ahh, hyenas." A rough, authoritative voice beckoned from across the crater, trembling the very ground beneath and in turn, the lava. "I trust you bring me 'good news'" The ghostly head lowered without moving its eyes, keeping them at the top of their sockets. They stared down at the diminutive creatures beneath him.
Cheezi, confident in what he had to say, stepped forward. His tongue poked out of his mouth to the side. "Relax fur brain." His voice ridiculed his leader. "I've got this."
Janja, furious with his friend's fur-brained decision, nudged him away.
"No! I said I'll-" Janja began. Realizing it was hopeless to explain for this dull-witted creature, he turned back to his dark master. "Hmpf, never mind."
"What news do you bring for me, Janja?" Scar had grown impatient, shaking the volcano's core with his voice even more. Janja approached, his tail tucked firmly between his legs. "Did the plan work?"
"Well,... kinda." Janja bowed his head, respectfully, quaking his legs as he awaited the almighty lion spirit's reply. "You see-"
"Kinda?!" Scar's voice boomed throughout the volcanic crater, the slight rumble forced a few pebbles of rock to fling off the crater's edge, landing in the molten, all-consuming lava below. "Explain yourself!"
Janja, now a shaking ball of fur, cowered on the small, feeble ledge. The hyenas under his command, surrounding the volcano's summit, watched on as the lava began to rise, burning the bottom of the ledge with a white-hot glow.
"Well," His ears flopped down to the side of his head, his eyes tried to close as the spiritual lion's face appeared at the front. "We didn't catch any wildebeests."
"Or zebras." Cheezi flicked his head to the left, his tongue flapping side to side in his mouth, spraying drool into the fiery depths below. Beside him, his friend joined in, slobbering next to him. This hyena, Chungu, had until now been mesmerized by the silky smooth movements of a butterfly which had lost its way into the Outlands.
"Wait, er, didn't we hurt the lion guard too?" Chungu gawked at his drooling friend beside him.
"Wait! What?!" The ground shuddered once more as Scar's thunderous bellow rattled through the Outlands, sending a cold, darkening shudder through the spines of every animal within the Outlands. He turned his darkened, void-filled gaze to the terrified hyena clan leader before him. "Is this true, Janja?"
Shuffling out of his fearful state, Janja arose to his paws, his tail shaking side to side, rippling through ash and the burning air around him. He turned back to his clan, all of which were shuddering in the aggressive presence of Scar.
"Well, umm, Scar." Janja's voice quivered. "Kion and Fuli were caught in the stampede." His mind rummaged through the day's events, connecting the dots as he panicked. "And, uh, last we checked, they... weren't... moving. Yeah, ahaaahaaahaaaaa!" His mind had pieced together what Scar had already seen.
"Indeed." Scar also began to giggle demonically. A chorus of hyena laughter followed, as the seemingly dull-witted creatures all saw what their leaders were getting at. Only Cheezi and Chungu appeared to not see the obvious. The two only joined in the laughter after a few seconds, refusing to be left out of such a spree.
Scar twisted around, facing the Pridelands. Pride rock glistened in the moonlight. A light in the darkness. In Scar's twisted, all-consuming eyes, it was a monument to all of the Prideland's sins. How many animals have been denied the right to live in such a magnificent land? How many more were killed or scared off, just in the name of the 'circle of life'?
"So, the Lion Guard has lost its leadership?"
"Well, yeah sir."
"Hmm, then maybe it's time to strike, once and for all." The lava beneath them bubbled, pulsing through the spectral lion's head as he boiled up a plan. As he did, Janja remembered the reason why they ended up back in the outlands. The almighty, earth-shattering roar that rattled through the canyon, blasting them through the air. He remembered the origins of this roar. The rough, brown mane that ignited in a bright white flame as the ground ruptured towards him.
"Umm, Scar. I don't think that's a good-"
"Yes, we won't even need to try." Scar ignored the hyena's warnings, his mind too focused on his 'ultimate assault' against the Pridelands. "Without their leadership, the Lion Guard will be weak, scattered. Pride Rock will be within striking distance." An avalanche of rocks cracked off the volcano's crater, splashing in the lava below, nearly hitting Janja off of his small ledge overlooking the lava below.
"I'm telling you, Scar. An attack WON'T work!" He tried to plead to his master. But Scar was having none of it.
"SILENCE!" The volcano's crater shuddered, streams of lava flowing through and creating small, all-consuming lava falls, pouring deeper into the Outlands. The bubbling lava rose and started to overflow, pumping up to the ledges, in turn forcing few of the hyenas to flee or have their paws consumed by Scar's ever-hungry flames.
"If we strike now, The Pridelands will not stand a chance." Scar began to wander up and down his fiery pit. The fiery strands of mane flickered as a cold, northerly breeze brushed across the volcano's crater. Small flames unshackled themselves from his mane, spreading his dark, burning presence across the Outlands.
"Janja!" He turned his attention back to the seemingly nervous clan leader before him. "Rally the jackals and vultures. YOU are to lead the main charge."
"Me?!" The hyena gulped. The last three times he had led a charge against any Pridelanders, it had ended in complete and utter failure. But deep down, he knew that with nearly half of The Lion Guard inactive, he might stand a chance, especially if Kopa had moved on.
"Yes, YOU Janja!" A devilish, cunning smile embroiled across the lion's mug as the hyenas started to leave the lair, their leader still sitting before him, his head flinching around, as if in extreme doubt. "And if you do not..." The lava began to seep onto the floor occupied by Janja, forcing him to leap off before his paws burned. "I will consume you."
"Umm, right." The hyena leader backed off slowly, treading backwards to the crater's exit. "You can count on me Scar, yeah!" And with that, the hyenas rushed down the volcano, heading back to their dens to prepare for the upcoming assault.
Scar turned to a small, darkly lit cave on the opposite side of the volcano, his gaze illuminating it to reveal a single, rather unclean lioness. Her greyish tan fur seemed to blend in with the boulders around. Her presence was only given away by the darkened cream stripe down her head.
"Zira, my dear." Scar's face seemed to melt, his face grinned with a heartfelt smile, trickles of lava rolling through his smoky mane.
"Scar, my old flame." Her voice croaked as she leapt down from the ledge, landing on the ledge where Janja had stood not a few minutes before. Now,the lava had boiled down to the lowest levels, deep within the earth's crust. "I bring news of your 'vessel'" Her slender body stretched outwards, bowing before her dark, moonlit master. "His training has begun."
"Very good, my love." Scar's smile never dwindled, only grew at his old lover's words. "What of the others?"
Zira arose, deciding instead to sit comfortably on the protruding rock. It's surface remained warm from the fiery bath it had received moments prior. "Nothing that will delight you, my lord." Her head lowered in shame at the thought of her other son's disappointing actions. "Nuka still humiliates your name. But Vitani, she has yet to find her role in the great plan."
"That is good, my love." The spectral lion continued to grin. "They will both play an important part in my plan later on." He turned his eyesight back to the Pridelands. "But even Kovu may not be needed."
"What do you mean, my lord?" The lioness arose to all fours, her notched right ear swayed along with her head, confused and surprised in equal measure. Still, a wicked smile also crept across her face.
"Simba shall become the vessel for my return. And the Lion Guard cannot stop us" A crackle of thunder erupted through the sky as Scar's chuckle returned. "And the Pridelands, our kingdom."
The lioness grinned up at him, her face gleaming. "And I will be queen, I assume." Her auburn eyes sparkled upwards, catching Scar's attention.
"Of course." Scars head bowed down at his 'queen'. But now was not the time to celebrate. He knew that things could still go wrong. He was leaving his plan in the paws of hyenas after all. If the plan was to work, he'd still need his backup: Kovu.
"Now go, my love. Return to our children. Tomorrow, dusk will fall on Simba's reign. And our new dawn will rise. "
"Of course, my lord." Zira bowed once more to her master, before trotting out of the volcano, occasionally looking back. The grin that adorned Scar's face still gleamed, provoking her to slip a chilling chuckle as the cool, northern breeze brushed against her fur,
Everything was nearly in place for Scar's physical return. And as the dark, thunderous storm grew across the Outlands, a forecast of fire, death, and lightning seemed to be all but assured.
....
The moon had arisen over the Pridelands. Whilst most of the animals slumbered, a trio of young lionesses began their slow, careful trip down the rocky pathway, leading to the lower caves and lairs. As the eldest landed in front of the vine coated lair, she peaked around each corner, making sure the coast was clear as her fellow friends landed next to her, their mouths filled with joints of meat.
"Everything looks clear, let's go!" Kiara dashed into the Lion Guard's lair, moving swiftly through the vined entrance in one pounce. Her friends, Tiifu and Zuri followed, in that order.
The lair was spotless, barely a leaf shuffled as the three entered. In a ray of moonlight, they noticed the two injured felines cuddled up to each other, their furs brushing against each other as their chests heaved, pumping air throughout their worn, tired bodies. The rest of the Guard's absence seemed to confuse Tiifu who, placing down the joint of meat in her mouth, whispered, "Aren't they supposed to be sleeping here tonight? Where are they?"
"Ugh, don't you listen to anything?" Zuri rolled her eyes at her friend, feeling like the weight of two boulders. "They're on patrol, duh." Her tail flicked across Tiifu's face, slapping her across the cheek with a soft patting sound.
"At this time?" Tiifu shot a stare at her sometimes annoying, but otherwise kind, friend. By the corner of her eye, she was certain something had moved in the shadows, by the centre of the lair. However, she chose to believe it was due to the tiresome weight resting above her eyelids.
"They've been put on extra patrols because of the stampede." Kiara looked back at her bickering friends, leaping in between them. Tiifu looked at the princess, at least content that somebody had explained the situation to her. "Now, if you two are done, perhaps we can get on with our task."
As the trio approached the sleeping/unconscious cheetah and lion, the moonlight seemed to intensify, illuminating the majority of the lair. Only a part fell in shadow, at the edges, where Tiifu had apparently seen something move. Tiifu trotted towards the pair, looking down at the little tuff of auburn mane protruding from the body of orange-yellow fur snuggled up to the cheetah's soft, luxurious fur.
"Aww, he's quite cute when he's sleeping, isn't he?" Her comment was met with disgusted, slightly embarrassed faces of her peers. After a few seconds, Zuri burst into laughter as Tiifu's fur hid the burning reddening in her face.
"Oh, sure, Tiifu. And a rock is as soft as a feather." She rolled her eyes once more as she stepped closer, moving past the sleeping couple before sitting down opposite of the pair. "Why are we even here anyway?" Her muzzle erupted open, releasing a single, earth-shaking yawn. "And so late too."
Kiara exhaled sharply, venting the obvious frustration of her friends arguing into the surrounding air . "Barely anyone has checked on Kion all day. Why, only the guard, Rafiki and my dad have been in here." Her head lowered looking down at the weakened body of her little brother. He may have been annoying at times, and she would occasionally wish him away, but seeing him in such a state... She turned her eyesight away as a small drop of salty water fell through her soft, youthful fur onto the ground below.
"And?" Zuri laid down, nestling her belly on the patches of leaves where Fuli once laid.
"If you don't like it, then why don't you keep an eye out. Make sure the Guard or my dad don't see us here." Kiara said, with a stern, explosive mixture of anger and shock. Her brother would risk his life, day in and day out, to keep them and the Pridelands safe. How could Zuri be so disrespectful to him, to not show him any form of respect at all?
Seeing that her friend was serious, Zuri wandered over to the lair's entrance, muttering and exhaling as she did so. With Zuri out of the way, Kiara and Tiifu sat together, continuing to look down at the lion/cheetah couple beneath them.
"Well, I think it's time to start." Kiara picked up one of the joints of meat, placing it beside her brother. His facial fur was especially filthy, clogged with dust and dirt blown in by the strong winds that had battered the Pridelands.
"He's kinda dirty." Zuri said.
"Not for long." Tiifu practically pounced towards the unconscious prince, paws just barely missing his body as she landed near his face. Turning around, she began to lick his face, clearing it of dust and dirt. "Don't worry Kiara, I'll take care of him. Why don't you check on Fuli?"
"Okay." Kiara tried to ignore the small, childish grin adorning her friend's face and instead moved the second hunk of meat over the cheetah's sleeping body. Looking at Fuli, Kiara noticed her paw resting over her brother, dangling over to his chest.
As Kiara continued to care for Fuli, a small, shallow sigh of deep thought shuddered through the air. Kiara's back fur shot up, her claws sprung out from her paws, scratching away at the rocky ground below. Even Tiifu jumped into the air, instantly shooting her eyesight to where she had last suspected a faint presence.
It was clear they were not alone.
As the moonlight moved through the lair, a single large figure appeared, staring at the wall. Its messy, imperfect form seemed to shiver in the breeze. Large, tangled strands of fur reached up to the young lionesses. As Kiara stood, frozen in a defensive crouch, a familiar, friendly whiff embroiled itself along her whiskers. Its musky texture seemed to relax her muscles, allowing her to move once more.
"Kopa?" Kiara asked, a little tremble still consuming her voice. As she spoke, the young adult lion jumped, turning around to see the future queen of the Pridelands, her small, fluffy tail swinging side to side.
"Oh! Kiara!" His eyes darted around the room as his chest pulsed quickly, slowing down softly with each breath. Stepping forwards, Kopa kneeled before the young lioness, bowing his head in respect.
"Er...it's okay, Kopa, heh." She started to blush at the regal attention he was giving her. Swiftly turning her eyesight to Tiifu, Kiara saw her friend staring at the adult lion, her green irises quivering in his presence. Kopa arose from his bowing, turning around to resume whatever he was looking at.
"What are you doing down here anyway?" Kiara approached the older lion, Tiifu closely following her, her eyes still locked in a dreamy, melting stare.
"Simba has put me in charge of the Lion Guard, at least until Kion recovers." Kopa continued to study the walls of the Lion Guard lair, studying the many paintings detailing the Pridelands' past.
"I'm just catching up on recent events." He turned back to the lionesses, both of them smiling up at him. Zuri had also begun to walk over to them, sitting down next to Tiifu as Kiara further approached Kopa.
"It seems like I've got quite the legacy to live up to here." Kopa commented as he looked at the most recent events and attacks that the Lion Guard has successfully prevented. "Hyenas, jackals, vultures, other lions. Your brother must be a fierce force to be reckoned with."
As she sat down next to him, Kiara examined the paintings too. A wash of pride clogged up her throat as she saw the battles her brother had won.
"Yeh, they don't call him the fiercest for nothing." She released a small, slightly nervous giggle as she briefly looked at Kopa. "But I bet that doesn't come close to the things you've seen!"
"I suppose so." He stared forwards, his brain focused on absorbing as much information as possible.
"So... you're to be queen of the Pridelands one day?" This question seemed to throw Kiara off guard slightly.
"Well, I'm a bit unsure if I'll ever be ready, and part of me thinks it's not for me but-"
"It's okay." Kopa turned to face Kiara, placing his paw on her shoulder. "I'm sure you'll make a great queen, in time." A small, pleasant smile adorned Kopa's muzzle, spreading to Kiara's which in turn only grew. Within a second, she began to brush herself against his chest, burying her small head into the bottom strands of his mane.
After a few seconds, they departed from their embrace. Both Tiifu and Zuri stared at the pair, their eyes lost in a look of shock and awe. This constant, drooling set of gazes sent a shiver through the lion's spine. His facial cheeks reddened with each second, luckily hidden under his thick fur.
"And who do we have here then?" He approached the two star-struck lionesses. Their faces burned bright red with embarrassment as they tried to hide their faces behind both forepaws. Kiara started to chuckle, seeing how her friends seemed to be getting now.
"Oh, this is Tiifu and Zuri, my 'advisers'." Kiara explained, her claws flickering up and down as she spoke.. Kopa didn't mind. In his eyes, the two were just as important as Kiara herself.
"Well, it's nice to finally get to know you both." The awkwardness of the situation instantly dissipated. The two girls then pounced at the older lion, nearly knocking him to his feet. "Whoa! Take it easy you two!"
Kiara couldn't help but burst into laughter as her friends pinned Kopa to the ground. Tiifu especially tried to lick into his mane, cleaning his rugged, shaggy look. Even Zuri began to burst into laughter as she brushed her head on his stomach.
"Okay you two, get off him!" Kiara's laughter subsided, her voice collapsing as she gasped for air, before grabbing Tiifu by the scruff. Even Kopa was laughing, rising back to a sitting position.
"Well, if you're all done in here, maybe we should get you home." Kopa began to leave. His eyes kept their attention on the girls behind him. "Your mothers will be furious if they catch you out here.
"Okay." Tiifu and Zuri leapt back, closely tagging along the older lion to the exit. Kiara however, took one last look at her brother. A flash of worry scrawled across her muzzle. As Tiifu and Zuri left, Kopa turned back around to see the young princess with Kion, her nose closing in on his own. Kopa cleared his throat, attracting her attention. His brown, warming eyes emanated a caring, thoughtful look.
"Don't worry! He'll be okay." He seemed to say.
As Kiara galloped towards Kopa, he turned, brushing his mane across the vines covering the entrance, allowing the princess to get through without becoming stuck. With one last look into the lair, Kopa saw the moonlight shimmer back to the lion/cheetah couple resting in the centre of the lair. The adolescent's face especially seemed to shine in the moon's rays. Resuming back to his responsibilities, he continued to follow the lionesses ahead.
Within the lair, however, a slight movement shuddered across Kion's back. And, for just a second, a single, auburn coloured eye opened. Trying to move, Kion felt a sudden, agonising pain piercing his body, forcing him to the ground once more with a loud, skull-shaking thud. All Kion could do was lie there, his face moistening in tears as the soft fur beside him burned into his. His head fell into a deep slumber once more, too ashamed to think of the physical and emotional pain that burned within.
...
As the moon rose to its highest point, Kopa, Kiara, Tiifu and Zuri all arrived at the entrance to the pride's lair. The soft, soothing sound of sleeping lionesses emanated from within.
"Thank you, Kopa." Kiara approached her cousin as a sudden yawn emitted her muzzle. Tiifu and Zuri had already entered, resting up against their mothers, who slept not far from the cave's entrance. As Kiara entered, she turned around to see Kopa sitting at the edge of Pride Rock, staring out into the lands below. A rather large, thunderous storm seemed to brew on the horizon. "Are you coming in?"
"Sure, you go first." His stare remained unbroken. "I'll be in shortly."
This seemed to be enough for the princess as she left the lion to his own accord. Finally, alone, Kopa let out a single gulping breath, relaxing the muscles in his legs. As the storms on the horizon intensified, his thoughts returned to his heart, and the hole pierced deep within it.
"Kopa!" A gravel textured tone rumbled through the ground as the small, barely noticeable shudder ruptured through the earth. Turning around, Kopa laid eyes on two figures, carved out from Pride Rock's floor and rising from below. A boiling, steaming pulse of lava pumped throughout their bodies, acting as a blueprint for the rock itself to form around. They both took the form of lions: one male, one female. The male displayed a scarred, ragged mane formed out of rock, scars pasted across his body, especially on his left side.
"Father?" A look of wonder crossed Kopa's face. "It's been a while."
Kopa approached the spiritual, rocky form of his father. With a single, seamless movement, he brushed his fur against the rugged texture of his father's. Sparks of fire seemed to jettison from his body, dissipating as they reached the ground below.
"Hmm, only a few weeks, son."
As the pair departed, Kopa turned to the other lion, her fur similarly forged of stone, but her chest adorning a large, single diamond, glistening in the moonlight.
"Mother?"
It had been a while since his mother had visited him. Kopa's heart imploded with pure, reverberating love as he locked eyes with the spectral lioness.
"Hello, Kopa." Her navy-blue eyes seemed to pierce Kopa's heart, bringing a single row of tears to roll down his face.
"W-why are you here? What's wrong?" Kopa was barely holding it together.
Standing in front of his father was one thing, but his mother as well. Kopa's heart began to fill with tears of times long gone. The times that they were alive, when his mother would worry about him running off into danger, or when his father would allow him to pounce on him repeatedly as a cub.
His father turned to stare out towards the Pridelands, his gaze particularly engaged on the darkening storm brewing over the Outlands.
"A dark storm is coming this way, Kopa. We can't see what's causing it, but it is not natural." His head panned down, looking down at the rocky paws beneath.
His mother continued to explain. "There has only been one time that a storm of this magnitude has struck the Pridelands, just after King Mufasa's death." Her voice trailed off, barely wishing to recall the horrible events of those darker days.
"During Taka's reign?" Kopa's inquisitive mind dug right to the centre of their worry. Both spiritual lions turned away from him, wishing not to hear the name once more, especially Tuli.
The flashes of pain, abuse and torment she suffered, that they all suffered, at that time, blasted through her mind. A sleek, shallow river of fire slithered down the side of her rocky face, corroding the earth beneath as it splashed onto the rocks below. Kopa's father, Ni, nuzzled his obviously, and understandably, scarred mate by the tragic events of her past.
"Indeed, my son." Ni's rocky voice echoed across the savanna, reverberating off of every grassy nook and rocky cranny. The only place that seemed to contain his voice was the Outlands and its blanket of thick, blackening storm clouds looming above.
"We do not know what this means, but it can't be good." His fiery head turned back to the storm beyond, the lava burning within his heart smothered in the dark, unforgiving trail of contaminated thought. "If Taka was to return..."
"The entire Pridelands would fall!" Kopa's heartbeat intensified, his pupils dilated as an icy, empty thought pierced his skull.
The world around him seemed to dissolve. The grassy, fertile lands before him wrinkled, contorting and twisting into a sea of dust and echoes. Not a single spec of light seemed to nestle itself, not even up to the horizon.
This was a vision of what could become.
"The scars of the past must not salt the land." His father's eyes burned with a stern, orange flame. "Keep your guard up, my son. " Ni raised his stony, glowing paw onto his son's shoulder, igniting Kopa's mane with a bright, otherworldly flame. The area around them seemed to shiver, warping and vibrating with a regular, spontaneous beating.
Within seconds, all three lions were nuzzling. The two spectral lions nuzzled either side of their son, burned completely in a burst of orange, oxygen-rich flames. Their son, stuck in the middle of this firestorm, ignited with them, his fur flickering in the slight breeze.
Kopa's head, however, wasn't lost in the heat of the moment. Instead, his mind turned to the past. Sure, he was enjoying this moment with his parents, it had been ages since he had seen them, not to mention nuzzling them, to show them how much he loves them.
But, deep down, another flame in his heart was dimming...
"Son?" Tuli asked. As the first to sense this chilling sensation within him, she turned into her son's gaze. Kopa tried to hide his face in his father's fiery mane. But she knew something was wrong, and he wouldn't get away with it that easily.
"Kopa!" Her voice tightened, forcing her son out of hiding. "What's the matter?"
"Can you feel where Karimu is? Is she alive?" A sudden, protective instinct erupted through his veins, forcing a hopeful, slightly intrigued look to pour over his face. At this, his parents stood back. Tuli's nose sniffed the air, searching for the familiar scent of the young princess. Within seconds, she had her answer.
"I can't tell, son."
Kopa's face instantly shot toward the ground, something more than gravity pulling his fur, muscles and ears down towards the ground. "It seems the storms mask her scent." Tuli continued.
Facing this news, Kopa stood strong, at least in the presence of the immortal spectral forms of his parents.
"It's okay." He flickered his eyes to the ground. A light, shuddering feeling vibrated through the rocky surface. Their spacing felt like a decently built creature walking around nearby on all fours.
"We have to go now, son." Ni had now moved away from his son, his old mate sitting next to him. The pair stared at Kopa, stars twinkling in their eyes. "But be careful, times seem to be getting darker, and we might not be here for when midnight hits you." The pair started to dissipate, the lower parts of their lion bodies crumbling back into the earth of which they were made of.
"But wait! Don't-" It was too late, the pair had crumbled back into the earth. The fiery, lava-like substance that pulsed through their bodies spilled on the floor, pooling at the edge of Pride Rock until the dry land below sucked it up, forming two small patches of grass where the pools rested.
"Mother, Father!" Kopa was practically crying by now. It was never easy letting go, especially for him. It hurt, even more, when it came to his family or friends and boy did he have to let go of a lot of them or lose his mind to insanity.
As his parents crumbled into the ground, Kopa pounced where they once stood, only catching a small pile of dust and dirt within his paws, seeping through them like memories of his past, making way for the present and future.
"Don't go..." Kopa laid on the edge of Pride Rock, his paws resting in front of him, near the edge. Another small trail of tears brushed down his face and through his mane before landing on the grassy patches of ground lying against his furry chest.
A strong firing of uncontrollable emotions triggered a shivering of breath. Unbeknownst to him, a single kindly lioness had awoken from her sleep and was staring at him, approaching slowly and silently. A single, tiresome yawn was the only thing giving away her presence.
"Kopa?" Hearing this calming, slightly worried voice, Kopa jumped out of his fur, flinging it down the cliff, off onto the rock-hard ground meter below. His fur stood on end, turning around to see a nervously empathetic Nala.
"Nala!" Kopa's crying had ceased. To him, he could not be in this state, especially in the presence of royalty. Clearing his voice, and mind, Kopa approached his aunt. "What are you doing awake? And at this time?"
Nala approached her nephew, slowly turning as he began to head towards the main den. "I noticed you were absent." She stared at the grassy patch at the edge of the cliff where Kopa was lying. "That and I heard you speaking to someone?"
"Yeah, I was..." Kopa's mind focused on hiding his secret. He couldn't bring himself to tell her about his mother's death, or the fact that both his father and mother were now spiritual pieces of the land itself. "Talking to myself." He gave a loud, but rather exaggerated, yawn. "I think I'm getting tired."
In response, Nala gave a slight, friendly giggle, turning around to lead Kopa back to the lair. "Okay, let's get you back to the lair, before you fall asleep out here."
The pair giggled once more, heading towards the entrance to the lair. A sea of sleeping lionesses greeted them, making it nearly impossible for them to reach the far end , without awakening any of them. However, a narrow path seemed to show around their bodies, allowing the pair to return to their sleeping areas.
As they passed through the lionesses, Kopa noticed a particular one, a single light creamed fur lioness cuddled up beside her. The lioness seemed slightly awake, winking as Kopa walked passed. All Kopa could do was smile and deep inside, giggle.
As the pair reached the Royal Family's part of the den, the two parted ways. Nala returned to the comforting embrace of her mate Simba, whilst Kopa refused to join them, choosing instead to lay in front of the shallow slope leading towards this section. His body blocked access to the rest of the royal family.
As he fell into a deep sleep, Kopa thought back to what his parents had said to him.
Could it be true? Was darkness returning to the world? He had to tell Simba... or at least Nala.
But that could wait for tomorrow.
As the wave of sleep washed over his body, comforting him with a warming feeling, l fur brushing against his. But still, he knew tomorrow would bring problems. Kopa promised himself he'd do his best to fix them.
For the Pridelands... For Karimu...
