Back in the Pridelands, a small group of lionesses were hunting a small herd of gazelle. Their numbers spread upwind among the tall, swishing strains of grass, hidden from sight. Nala led the hunt. She slowly approached their prey with the graceful silence of the breeze itself. Her creamy, slender fur camouflaged her from her prey, making her a ghost within the tall grass.
Now within striking distance, Nala turned her attention over her shoulders, analysing her friend’s positions. As each of them readied themselves, they nodded towards their queen. Knowing everyone was in position, Nala moved close to their prey, her heart pacing anxiously in her chest. Despite her experience in leading too many hunts to count, there was always a slight chance of injury or even death. It kept her on edge.
The gazelle herd was still grazing among the long grass ahead, unaware of the huntresses slowly treading towards them. The slight, northern, chilly breeze brushed over them. As a soulless breath of death, the wind sent uncontrollable shivers down their spines.
Nearly at striking distance, the group of lionesses tiptoed through more tall grass just before the clearing, avoiding anything that might give them away. All this careful, silent positioning and treading would be for nothing, however, as one of the lionesses stepped on a twig, buried in the long grass. Realising they were not alone; the gazelle grew startled and ran for the hills. Nala led the attack, focusing her attention on an elderly member of the herd. It bounded forward, struggling to keep up with the rest of the herd.
He had no chance.
Within seconds, the majority of the lionesses had pounced on him. The cold, fading feeling of life left his body as the lionesses lowered their heads in respect for their prey. After a moment's silence, a trio of the lionesses grabbed the old, lifeless body of the gazelle. They soon dragged it across the dry savannah dirt towards Pride Rock.
As Nala led the successful hunting party back to Pride Rock, the youngest of the lionesses approached her queen. A look of worry, regret flushed through her sullen brow and flickering eyesight.
"Umm, Nala." The lioness skulked up to her queen. "I'm so sorry for spooking the gazelle. I wasn't focused enough and-I-"
"Whoa there, it's okay." Nala nuzzled her younger subject with an almost motherly embrace, immediately calming and soothing the younger lioness before her. "You're still young. You have many years to hone your skills, Kuwinda."
"You're right, my lady." She let go of her queen's embrace as a pleasant smile at last emerged. She felt a lot better now, seeing how her beautiful queen had given her the slightest glimmer of hope for a brighter, improved future.
Out in the distance, a lone, wandering figure caught the eye of Kuwinda. The figure seemed to hop and jump onto an overlooking hill, raising its head towards the sky before flopping down onto its belly with a soft, dust erupting thud.
"My lady?" Kuwinda continued to stare as the queen approached her. "Isn't that Kopa over there?" She raised her paw to point to where the lion was laying down, slumped over.
"Yes." Nala squinted as the sun blinded her sight. She could barely make out the thick, earth-brown bustle of mane surrounding Kopa, its outline burning with the surface of the sun. She noticed his rather weakened, sloppy posture. "I wonder what's wrong with him.”
"What do you mean?" Kuwinda seemed confused by the queen's assessment.
"He seems... down, about something." Nala turned to Kuwinda. The young lioness stood confused by the queen’s words. "It takes a mother's eye to see that."
Kuwinda turned back to see Kopa resting on the hillside. He looked quite handsome. For her, the stories about his bravery and heroism only added to this aura of attractiveness.
Kuwinda, with a hesitant flick of her head, mumbled as Nala started to step towards Kopa. "I don't know if I should see him…" Her ears folded downward, feeling her heart freeze with nervousness. "I don't want to cause any trouble.”
"Oh, Kuwinda." Nala shook her head looking back at the young lioness. "You won't cause any trouble," She trotted up to her, nuzzling her neck before turning back to the hill Kopa rested on. "...besides, he's not going to bite." She continued onward; a maternal, loving smile spread across her face as she approached her nephew. Kuwinda watched on for a moment, pondering what the Prideland's queen had said. She indeed had nothing to lose. Perhaps it would be alright, just to say hi.
It was a tough decision though. The last time she saw Kopa, they were but cubs. Kuwinda remembered the day she had to say goodbye, the day Kopa was kicked out of the pride, along with several lionesses, all by Scar. It still hurt, losing her best friend like that, not to mention also losing her mother to the same fate, as an adolescent.
And yet, she still lived.
Kopa didn't notice the lioness wandering up to him. His mind was still filled with the realisation that his dreams, his ambitions, all had flushed under the bridge of time. He was, in his mind, useless.
"Kopa?" Nala's soft, caring voice rattled through Kopa's ears, barely etching their way into his brain. He laid still, ignoring the lionesses approaching him. "What's the matter?"
"It's nothing." Kopa remained locked in his sobbing state, the coldness of his heart beating throughout his body, spreading a feeling of hopelessness and despair.
"Oh, come now, Kopa." Nala began to brush herself against him, slightly nudging the younger lion up off the ground. "I can tell when something's wrong." Her blue eyes pierced into his brown ones. "I am a mother after all."
"Yeah, Kopa." Kuwinda joined in, still trying her best to keep calm in front of the Royal Mlinzi. Upon hearing the lioness approach, he turned to her, his warm, if slightly watery eyes seemed to almost peer into her soul.
"Kuwinda… is that… you?" Kopa replied. Spectacularly, he started to smile. Nala sat down, watching as the two old friends began their little reunion. With a pounding heart, Kuwinda nodded her head, to which Kopa replied with an excitable pounce. "Oh wow! I can't believe it's you!"
"Yeah... me neither…" The young lioness replied, her body halting all function as she felt the handsome male nuzzle her. She couldn't help but breathe in, taking in his masculine scent as he stepped back, admiring her presence.
"My, you've grown since we last met." He smiled as their eyes met once more, only for Kuwinda's to flicker back to the ground once more.
"Well, erm… yeah."
Nala, who had watched this reunion with pure pride, still sensed a shallowness rippling through Kopa's fur. As Kuwinda started to grow embarrassed, Kopa returned to a more sombre, thoughtful state. Upon spotting this, Nala approached him, nuzzling into his mane. "What's wrong Kopa? What's got you down?"
Knowing that she would not step down, Kopa realised that he would have to tell her. But how? There was no way that they would understand what he was going through.
‘How would she?’ Kopa pondered. He was sure that she had not been in this situation. Her entire life, destined to fail... crumble apart like a dry, crackled cliffside during the dry season.
Kopa released a strong, harsh sigh. "I think it's time for me to leave." Kopa arose to all fours, his head still weighed down toward the ground. He wandered off into the sun's gleaming light, his senses completely oblivious to his surroundings. "I can see that you don't need me anymore."
Nala approached the slowly depressed lion, nestling her head into Kopa's comforting, thick tuft of mane fur, giving him affectionate licks across his back. Kuwinda, who had watched on nervously, joined in, hesitantly trying to comfort the handsome male as best she could.
"Why do you think that Kopa?" Nala sat next to her nephew as Kuwinda stared into his eyes, a look of awe and wonder adorning her face causing herself to blush uncontrollably.
"The Guard has Kion to lead them. The Pridelands is once more secured." He turned to look into his aunt's eyes, a part of him still uncertain if what he was thinking was true, or just a twisted view of his situation. "But then again, I doubt Karimu is alive. There's barely been a sign of her for months now."
"We could still use your help, Kopa." Nala smiled at her nephew. Her mind concreted on a solution to his problems. "Besides, you're more than welcome to stay." Nala started to brush herself against him. "You're family after all."
Arising on all fours, Nala flicked her tail in the direction of a small pool of water nearby. "Follow me, Kopa." The trio approached the water, Kopa's mind curious about what his aunt was thinking.
"Why? What are you doing?" He watched as she laid down on her belly by the pool's edge, her smile welcoming both himself and Kuwinda to lay next to her. Nala began to flick her paw into the water, sending small ripples to pulsate around the small pool of water.
"It's something Rafiki taught me while I was pregnant with Kiara." She stared into the water, an uncontrollable, joyful smile brushed across her muzzle. "Look into the water, Kopa. What do you see?"
Kopa poked his head out above the water's surface. His eyes focused on its sloppy, wavy surface. The only thing he saw was himself, staring back at him.
"All I see is my reflection." His heart slowed, forcing his eyes shut to stop the tears from flowing out. A rather weighty pad of fur nestled on the back of his head, pushing it closer to the water's surface.
"Look harder." Nala was the one to force his head closer, her paw resting on his fur-coated head. He focused closer on the ripples. Strange, rather soothing visions showed themselves through the water. He was standing in a fertile, life-filled grassland. In the distance, snowy peaks pointed towards the blue, cloudless sky as the most beautiful sight came into view beside him.
"Karimu?"
Both Nala and Kuwinda turned towards him. "What did you see?" Nala's calm, motherly voice brushed him out of his vision as a single, shocked tear splashed into the water’s surface. The remaining ripples caused the vision to dissipate, just as a duo of small, brown-yellow balls of fur came into view.
"It's like our dream we always had." Kopa continued, his mind lost in an otherworldly, heart-fuelled stare, peering into the water's mind-opening surface. "Karimu and I always wanted to live as one, to have a pride, all of our own."
His face morphed from a frown into a smile within seconds. "It's just nice to see her face again." A small, emotionally infused stream of tears brushed through his mane, forcing him to wipe his face with a paw.
"Love never crumbles, never faults, never dies. Even through death itself, those we have loved stay with us, in our hearts." Nala's words only brought a more powerful, soul-wrenching string of tears to Kopa's eyes. She presented the largest smile possible across her muzzle as she stared towards Pride Rock in the distance, where her own love was most likely overlooking the land, proud and handsome as always.
"Do you really think she's still out there?” Kopa asked.
Kuwinda, breaking her concentration from the water's edge, brushed herself against Kopa's mane, her soft, heartfelt nuzzles sending shivers through his body, as well as her own. "I'm sure you... we will find her, Kopa." Her beautiful brown eyes swept through his mane fur, looking up into his own brown orbs above.
Seeing the young couple cuddled up to one another, Nala arose, signalling for them to arise too. "Come on, we'd better get back to Pride Rock." She led them towards the gigantic stone monument in the distance. Her heart bounced around in her chest as thoughts of her son brushed through her mind. "I want to see how my son is."
The fastest heartbeat came from that of Kuwinda. As the trio continued to walk towards Pride Rock, she continued to brush against Kopa's fur. Like all the young lionesses, she had heard the legends, the myths of this young lion. But now that he was here, he was potentially the most valuable, most sought after mate in the entire savannah. She knew that if she stayed by his side, she would never be alone again.
"Of course, your majesty." Kopa said as he soon remembered the morning's events. The rising of Kion, the cheetah who had leapt onto his newly conscious body, causing a sea of laughter to spew from their colleague's mouths. "Your son woke up this morning. He seemed... well."
This revelation brought more than a smile to the queen's face. "Well, let's go!" The queen began to sprint across the savannah, leaving the duo in her dust trail. Kopa was surprised by his aunt's sudden burst of athletic, powerful energy.
"You think we should follow her?" Kuwinda looked over at Kopa, a slight glimmer in the corner of her eye.
"You bet!"
And with that, the duo sprinted off across the savannah. The northern breeze that once chilled their bones only slightly cooled them down as they laughed in near-perfect harmony, chasing down the older, but still very capable, lion queen ahead of them.
The sun rested high in the sky by now, bringing with it a vast amount of heat across the land. If one thing was certain for the rest of the day, it was that things could only get brighter from here. Kopa once more had his faith restored, and now he was happy to be alive once more.
