The lion awoke, ensnared in shadow. His dirt ridden fur flickered in a shallow breeze, almost like a slither of snakes were scurrying across his body. He tried to arise to his paws but found himself weighed down by the shadow. Something had pinned him... Or maybe... Someone?
"Life's not fair, is it my little friend." A familiar, almost majestic voice boomed through his mind. Craning his neck outward, he caught a glimpse of a shadowy figure before him. He remained locked in place, almost as if he were bowing to the spectral form. The chilling breeze intensified, forcing his face to turn. With an agonising grunt, he was met with a heart-breaking sight.
Before him lay his mate and cubs, their bodies motionless, scratched and scarred. His lungs gave way, refusing to breathe as the shock sparked through his chest. Everything slowly chilled around him, only quickened by the spectral lion's presence approaching him.
"How does it feel? The cold..." Why did his voice seem so familiar? The lion's eyes widened as his mind started to reform its memories. The figure cleared, relieving a magnificent mane, slightly messy and irregular.
A conflicting flame started to hum in his chest, flickering as the figure approached him. He couldn't fight it, not now. All he could do was look on, watching as the figure approached him.
"You failed me, Vipawa..."
...
Kopa and Karimu continued down the dirt-laden track. The land they had found themselves in was lush and stunning. The early morning sun gleamed down upon them. Both closely strolled on, heading towards the singular, magnificent tree ahead.
"Are you sure about this?" Karimu asked calmly. A slight hint of nervousness slithered from her muzzle as her eyesight pointed upwards, towards her mate. "We have no way to get back home..."
"We'll deal with that later." Kopa replied, focusing on the trail ahead. She was right though. The gateway that had led them here had shattered upon their arrival, high above a canyon to the far northeast. A shudder shot across his body as he stared towards the lush tree. He felt his scar reverberate; his heart sank as he quietly murmured. "Something's not right."
"Kopa, what's wrong?" Karimu's voice trembled, concern escalating through her body as she watched him stroke his scar with his paw. Kopa remained silent, staring forward at the tree. Just as Karimu turned her gaze, she noticed a single avian figure swoop out of the tree, followed closely by three, feline figures. She could feel Kopa immediately tense, his eyes sharpening as they seemed to approach them.
"Kopa!" The Uasian queen shot her paw before her king. Her eyes looked beside him, only turning away as the mysterious lions approached. They froze, standing their ground before the royal couple. The only lioness stood forward, flickering her eyes between both of them.
"Hold right there!" The brown-furred lioness called out, halting before Kopa and Karimu. She was young, just an adolescent. Beside her, a similarly aged male shot to a defensive position. The other male stood tall, rather curiously in fact. His eyes seemed to scan Kopa's body, as if he knew him from somewhere.
"It's okay, we're not here to hurt anyone." Karimu calmly spoke. Kopa, who had for the entire time held his ground. Relaxed too. Karimu's slight nudge seemed to help. She stepped forward slowly, carefully approaching the three lions. "I am Karimu, queen of the Uasilands." She placed a paw on her chest, before turning it to Kopa, who had shot beside her. " And this is Kopa, our king."
The older male scanned Kopa once more, stepping up to the younger female. She turned her head to him as he whispered in her ear. She turned back to Karimu, a rather curious look adorning her muzzle as she flickered her eyes between the Uasian couple. "Excuse us a moment." She turned back to the older male as the two began to whisper. The other male joined them as Karimu and Kopa sat. rather concerned by what the trio was talking about.
"Surak, are you sure?" Rani whispered to her uncle, who turned his attention to her. He nodded his head slightly, lowering his head as he thought.
"If he is who I believe he is..." As Surak spoke, Baliyo approached, butting in on their conversation. The young adolescent stood strong, energetic. His front legs bowed inwards as he slid in beside his sister.
"But look at him, he's a threat." The trio looked over at Kopa, just as the Uasian king relaxed, disengaging from his defensive stance and sitting beside his mate patiently. The trio turned their attention to each other once more just as a shallow breeze rushed through the air.
"Queen Janna would want to meet them." Surak's look said it all. The confident, focussed stare, gleaming over towards his niece. Rani thought for a second, before turning to her brother. He sighed softly, looking at his paws before looking over at Kopa. Rani turned, standing firm as a soft smile spread across her muzzle.
"We'll take you both to our queen." Her eyes darted between the Uasian couple. "She'll want to meet you." She turned around, slowly leading the way as Baliyo and Surak stood either side of Kopa and Karimu, leading them down the dirt path leading to the majestic, lush tree at the centre of the land.
Karimu quickly caught up with the young lioness, the two trotted side by side, softly chatting as Kopa and Surak followed closely behind. Baliyo followed his own path, slowly bringing up the rear of the convoy. As they walked, Surak occasionally glanced at Kopa, seemingly studying him. Kopa shrugged it off, only turning his attention to the older lion as he spoke.
"It's an honour to meet you again, Kopa." The Uasian king froze, confusion flushing his mind as he turned to the older lion.
"Wait! You know me?" Kopa's eyes widened, his body best with shock. He had never met this lion. Surely he would have known if he had, wouldn't he? The two males stared each other in the eyes, a sensation of confused, awkwardness brushed through their fur.
"Well, Queen Janna will know if you are the one." Surak added, continuing to walk through the land. They were nearly at the Tree of Life now. That magnificent, beautiful root of life itself. Kopa and Karimu halted at its base, completely speechless at the natural beauty before them. Rani, Surak and Baliyo stood to the side, sitting gently at the tree's trunk as the Uasian royal couple admired it.
"Queen Janna awaits..." Rani waved her paw to a large, shallowly lit tunnel leading beneath the tree. Karimu arose, slowly strolling ahead alongside Kopa. The two entered the root ridden cave, slowly descending into the damp, tight tunnel. As the light of day faded into darkness, Kopa halted. Karimu turned to see him rubbing his eye quickly, growling slightly in pain.
"Whoa Kopa!" She rushed to his side, gently nuzzling his side as her heart skipped a beat. "You okay?"
Removing his paw, Kopa stared at his queen. "Yeah... It's nothing." He continued onwards, avoiding Karimu's concern as a shallow, fungi light caught his eye.
"No it's not." The Uasian queen rushed to Kopa's side, looking up at him firmly. "Your scar is hurting, isn't it?" Kopa refused to respond. Feeling darkness concealed in his heart, Karimu put her paw down, rushing in front of the Uasian king. She placed her paw on his. "Tell me!"
"It's fine!" Kopa's muzzle reverberated with a shallow, irritated growl. "I've just... There's..." Ushering a heavy sigh, the Uasian king bowed his head. The crystallised mark gleaming in the shallow light produced by the fungi ridden walls. "There's a lot on my mind..."
"It's okay." Softening her voice, Karimu licked her king's forehead. Her eyes darted at a shallow noise behind them. The three lions who had led them here were watching them both with great interest. She turned around, continuing down the earth ridden path, towards the blinding light below.
Kopa followed, as did the three lions. The light gave way to reveal a large, spacious lair, completely illuminated by the same fungi they had guided them. Within this sacred lair nestled a rather old, if still active, lioness. Proud and majestic, she watched as the two strange lions entered her throne room.
Her eyes widened as she saw Kopa, quickly scanning him, analysing his every movement, every breath. Kopa's body shuddered. Something was off.
"Greetings!" The lioness smiled down at the Uasian couple. "Welcome to the Tree of Life." She raised a paw, swaying it through the air before lowering it back to her rocky incline. "I am Queen Janna." Karimu approached slowly, bowing slightly before arising once more. Her crystallised mark glistening in the fungi incandescence.
"I am Karimu, Queen of the Uasilands." She looked beside her as Kopa bowed too. "And this is Kopa, our king." Janna smiled softly as the lioness before her introduced herself. Upon hearing Kopa's name though, her eyebrows arose sharply. Her eyes scanned his face once more.
"Indeed." Queen Janna arose, standing proudly before the royal couple. "It's an honour to meet you again, Kopa." She bowed towards the Uasian king, who had frozen, yet again consumed with confusion.
"You know me?" Kopa stepped forward, his muzzle shrugged by intrigue, let alone confusion. A sharp inhale rushed from the side of the overhang, catching Kopa's attention instantly. He shot to a defensive position as another male lion arose. Scars coated his body, including a faint, seemingly healed scar across his left eye. The lion stared at Kopa, a look of horror, surprise even etched across his face.
"Kopa?" The lion whimpered. Beside him, a mandrill tried to tend to his wounds, softly calming him as he spoke. "It... It can't be..." Kopa's chest shuddered. This lion seemed.... Familiar. He searched the very depths of his mind, trying to figure it out but... nothing.
"Who are you?" Kopa approached slowly. Karimu tried to step forward but halted after just a few steps. She had felt the same sensation Kopa had, the shudder through her fur. The lion seemed so familiar. She had seen him in visions, paintings too, back home. She inhaled sharply, her mind cranking as she figured it out.
"It's me!" The lion stepped slowly before Kopa, spreading his front paws outward, as if to hug the Uasian king. "Don't you recognise me?" He smiled softly, even as Kopa returned a slightly confused look. His chest thud with energy as his eyes widened. It had hit him...
He remembered his father's words, all that time ago. How he had described him, his first son. The pieces aligned before him, in this male lion. Kopa blinked once as the lion stood before him, almost crying as he smiled.
"I'm Nguvu..." Kopa inhaled sharply, a single, emotion-rich tear slowly seeping down his face.
"I'm your half-brother..."
