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~~~

Even to feline eyes, the Pridelands were dark. The endless sea of glittering stars couldn’t compensate for the new moon, and the dried out, grey landscape had begun to all look the same. But Kula knew the way to her spot by heart, and she would have found their meeting place on this night even if she’d been blind.

Ni could come to her, tonight. She didn’t want to strain herself by jumping over the river.

“Kula? Kula!”

She turned her ears towards his voice, and soon heard him land on the Pridelanders’ side of the border. Ni watched her for a few moments, and when she didn’t turn to face him, he approached cautiously.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes and no,” she answered, in a whisper.

Ni waited for her to continue, or at least look him in the face. When she didn’t, he said; “I wasn’t able to catch any prey, tonight. Even when it’s this dark, I usually do better—but I don’t think they’ve all run away. I wonder if.... Kula.” He put his paw under her chin, and gently turned her face towards his. “Come on, gorgeous, at least look at me. If something’s wrong, you’ve gotta tell me.”

“I’m...” She sighed. “I’m not trying to be difficult. It just isn’t easy to tell you.”

“Did Scar up the penalty for trespassing, or something?”

“No, that’s not it. Ni, I’m... I’m pregnant.”

The lion went stiff. A moment passed in brutal silence, before he finally choked out: “How can—? But, no, we—we were careful!” He looked at her pleadingly, but she offered no more. “We—you—you can’t be pregnant! We made sure to—!”

“We weren’t careful enough,” she replied, with a nervous laugh, “At some point, we must have messed up.”

Kula had had all day to come to terms with it, having gone to Rafiki early in the morning to inquire about her weight gain, which had made no sense to be experiencing during a famine. She had gone through the same baffled panic that Ni was experiencing, but a dull acceptance had crept in since then. If the situation had been different, it would have been a little funny to see her usually unflappable partner in such a state—as it was, Kula just felt sad.

Ni sat down. He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again. The lioness waited, knowing there was nothing she could say to him that would help.

“We’ve talked about kids,” he murmured at last.

“Yes.”

“We both said we want them, someday. That’s still true, right?”

“It’s true for me,” she said.

“Me too. Do you want to raise kids now?” he asked, slowly.

Kula answered without hesitation—it was all she had thought about since sunrise. “Yes.”

“Then I’m begging you, Kula!” Ni cried, standing up so quickly that she stepped back in surprise, “Come with me!”

Before she could say a word in response, he pressed his forehead to hers, lovingly.

“I can’t tell you we’ll just walk right into a sanctuary,” Ni said, “The drought doesn’t end at the Pridelands’ border, I know. But this—now it’s bigger than you and me.”

“Ni—“

“Please, just hear me out!” He stepped back, looking into Kula’s eyes intensely. “If you have this litter, you can’t have them here! There’s no food, no water—Scar’s gone nuts, the hyenas are everywhere, it’s like he’s keeping the whole pride locked up! It’s bad enough you being here, but we can’t raise cubs here.”

“Ni, I—“

“And I know, I know Scar will get worse if he loses another pride member,” Ni interrupted, “I know all the runaways made him paranoid, you’ve told me, but that’s exactly why it isn’t safe here. You want to put the pride first, I’ve heard it, but I can’t—we can’t—if we’re having this litter... then we need to put the cubs first.”

Kula could feel the tears welling up in her eyes. She nuzzled her head under Ni’s chin, and put her arm around him.

“You don’t have to convince me,” she said, and felt him collapse gratefully into her embrace. “This time, I am coming with you.”

For some time, they simply held each other under the starlight. When they finally pulled apart, both of the lions were beaming.

“I wish we could take the whole pride with us,” Kula said, “But I know we’ve gotta just run.”

“Someday, maybe we can come back,” Ni said, although Kula could tell he was only trying to be comforting. “Scar won’t be king forever, it’ll change someday—in our lifetimes!”

She nodded, before looking out over the river and into the dark, sprawling Outlands.

“But I’ll show you there’s so much out there!” he continued, nuzzling her cheek. “There’s animals like you’ve never imagined, there’s mountains and swamps and jungles to explore! Kula, you’ve got so much to see!”

“Well then,” she smiled, “Where do you want to go first?”

A loud, dramatic yawn broke the peace of the night, and the two spun around to face the sound.

“That’s all very touching,” Scar purred, as he stepped out from behind a towering rock, “If I were more of a romantic, it would bring a tear to my eye.”

Ni and Kula sprang to their feet, and scrambled into fighting stances. Ni stepped in front of her, and dug his claws into the ground.

“Before you do anything hasty,” the king said, “Ask if two against one-hundred seems like good odds.”

From the surrounding darkness, a cacophony of shrill laughter rang out. Emerging out of dry scrub bushes and from behind boulders, the lions could suddenly see Scar’s hyenas approaching—their dark spots kept them half blended into the night, but by the volume of their laughter it seemed Scar was not exaggerating their numbers. The two lions shrank back, huddling together.

“What do you wanna do with ‘em, Scar?” asked one of the hyenas, who Kula recognized as being called Banzai. “Why’ve we been waiting to catch ‘em?”

“Yeah, he’s a trespasser!” said another hyena, “Lay down the law already, let us eat ‘em!”

“Hey!” said Ni, sternly, “We were just leaving, your majesty. I didn’t realize I had trespassed, I’m sorry. Kula and I are just going to—“

“Don’t play dumb, it will only make this night go on longer,” Scar interrupted, “And I’ve had quite enough of waiting. You both know that trespassing is a crime, and that the penalty is death.”

“The penalty—!” Kula began.

“Is death,” Scar stated, “As of today. I’ve informed Zira, she’ll tell you the same. The penalty for desertion, well, that you’re aware of.”

“Death,” said Kula, “Again. Your laws are ridiculous, Scar, y’know everybody thinks that you’re insa—“

“Desperate times call for desperate measures!”

Scar strode in a circle around them, looking the lions over. As he walked, several of the hyenas followed behind, stopping when they found themselves behind Kula and Ni—they had blocked the jump into the Outlands.

“Y’know,” Ni growled, “If it’s execution or going down fighting... I think I’ll take my chances!”

He leaped upon the king, causing the both of them to slam into the dusty, rocky ground. Within moments, Ni had been wrenched away by a dozen of the hyenas, and he braced himself for a painful skirmish. To his surprise, he did not feel teeth invading his mane or any claws piercing his flesh. The weight of them on his half-starved body meant that he couldn’t get up, but the hyenas were not attacking. Ni opened his eyes.

Scar was rubbing the back of his head with his paw, and grimacing. Across from him, Kula had been corralled against a boulder by the clan.

“What a lovely partner you’ve chosen, Kula,” Scar grumbled, “With luck, your cubs will inherit his strength, but not his rashness.”

“What are you talking about?” asked Kula, “They’re not going to inherit anything, you’re having their mother killed!”

“You don’t wonder at all why I haven’t stopped your little meetings until now, do you?” When he got no answer, Scar sighed dramatically and continued. “I would love to spare you, you’re far more useful alive than dead. The law says what it says, of course, nothing anybody can do about that—but, if you were to try and make up for your crimes... I could be persuaded to make an exception, just this once.”

Kula and Ni exchanged glances.

“Let him up, and then tell us what you want,” she said.

Scar shrugged, and motioned for the clan to move away from Ni.

“The queen and I have not had adequate cubs,” Scar said, once the lion had gotten to his paws again. “You know we had many plans in store, for the kingdom’s future—we abolished the tradition of the eldest cub inheriting. We were going to pick the best of our cubs to be our heir, once they had proved their worth over their siblings. It was to usher in a new era of strength, for the Pridelands.”

“Foolproof,” said Kula.

“And very healthy,” added Ni.

“The cubs haven’t been,” he responded, flatly, “Nuka is a runt, the rest are dead. Zira and I are expecting another litter, soon; I don’t have high hopes.”

Scar met Kula’s eyes, and she swiftly looked away. Ni tried to step closer to her, but immediately found himself surrounded by the hyenas.

“I had to come up with a new plan,” said Scar, “If I cannot rely on my own cubs to take my place, then I will need somebody else’s.”

“No!” they shouted in unison. The hyenas closed in tightly around them, before they could move.

“You will not take our cubs!” Ni barked, though he kept himself from pushing back against the clan.

“Give what I’m saying a moment’s thought, you imbeciles. Would you prefer that the both of you die here and now? Or would you prefer that you—and your litter—live?”

Kula growled, and Ni looked at the king with suspicion.

“You’d have us just walk back to Pride Rock, and join the royal family?” she asked.

“Oh, hardly. Your friend here would be allowed to return to the Outlands, or wherever it is he came from, unharmed. You would return to Pride Rock—“

“No!”

“—where you’ll eventually have your litter, I’ll select the strongest among them, and Zira and I will take it into our care. After that, you can take the rest and do whatever you like with them. Compare this to your other option...” Scar mimed weighing two objects, with his paws. “Well, I’d say the choice is obvious.”

“What if one of your next cubs is perfect?” asked Ni, “What happens to Kula, then? And our litter?”

“Whatever she likes,” said Scar, “It’s none of my business—she can take them to you, and you’ll all walk off into the sunset together.”

“Kula,” he said quickly, turning back to her, “What do we do?”

“We can’t let him raise one of our cubs,” she said, glaring at Scar, “He can’t raise his own son!”

“Your cub will grow up in the lap of luxury,” Scar chuckled, “Say what you will about me, but the cub who ends up in my family will be far happier than it would have been otherwise. It’ll have food and water, for one, not to mention the whole world handed to it when I’m gone.”

“He’s right,” said Ni, after a moment, “The cub... it would be okay.”

Kula met Ni’s eyes. Silence descended over them, save for the snickering and grumbling of the surrounding hyenas.

“I don’t want to leave you,” she said.

“You don’t have much of a choice,” Scar butted in, “It would hardly be safe to have you both haunting Pride Rock.”

“You’re insane,” said Kula, with a growl.

Ni took a step towards her. The hyenas moved to stop him, but he looked to Scar pleadingly, and the king waved them off. He watched the couple with one eyebrow cocked, as Ni put his arm around Kula.

“Your majesty,” he said, “Can Kula and I talk in private?’

Scar looked across the vast sea of hyenas.

“No,” he said, “Obviously not.”

“Not like—we won’t go anywhere, just... can you all back off, just a little? So Kula and I can talk this over?”

Scar thought for a moment, before he held up his paws in defeat and stepped away.

“Spread out,” he shouted to the hyenas, “Keep in a circle, but give them some air.”

Ni and Kula couldn’t see the clan clearly anymore, it only took a few steps for them to blend into one dark mass in the night. Their mumbling and chattering made it clear that they had only gone as far as they had to, however—all exits were still guarded.

Kula laid her head on his shoulder, and whispered into his ear; “I think... I think we have to give him what he wants. I can’t see any way out of this, where we don’t lose our lives.”

Ni moved to nuzzle the lioness, and whispered to her; “I know—but it isn’t going to go how he expects.”

Kula squeezed his paw in reply, and waited.

“I don’t have a lot of friends out in the world, but I have some. I’m gonna go back to my homeland, and tell the king and queen what’s going on here. They’re good friends, Kula, and good leaders: they’ll bring an army to liberate the Pridelands.”

“Are you sure you’ll be safe out there?”

“I always have been before. And until I come back, you and the cubs will be safe here—he’s not going to hurt you while he needs you.” Ni giggled, and added; “You’ll probably be fed double what you are now, and won’t be on the hunts. You’ll be sitting pretty for a few months, then I’ll bust in with a herd of angry elephants to run Scar and his followers outta here.”

They pulled away from each other.

“I love you,” said Kula.

“I love you, too.”

“Have you come to a conclusion at last?” asked Scar, who had reclined upon a dead tree, “Will the darling romantics be dying together, or taking my generous offer?”

“Yeah!” one of the hyenas barked, “Hurry it up!”

“We accept,” said Kula, holding her head high.

“Brilliant,” Scar replied, standing up and stretching luxuriously, “I’m glad you’ve made the sensible choice. If you’ve said your goodbyes, Shenzi and some of her clan will make sure that the fellow is gone. Kula, you’ll walk with me and the rest back to Pride Rock.”

The couple glanced at each other, but were quickly separated by a group of the hyenas shoving at Ni.

“Get going!” said one of them, who Kula recognized as Shenzi, “You’re getting out-out, not just that little jump over the river out!”

“Okay, okay, I’m moving!”

Ni hurried forward, and found himself flanked by nearly half of the clan. The rest stayed by Scar and Kula, who were already getting up and heading in the direction of Pride Rock.

“I’ll see you!” Ni called out, unable to keep himself from smirking.

“See you,” she repeated, with a smile of her own.

It wasn’t long before Ni and the hyenas had fully disappeared into the dark of the night. After a while, Kula and Scar could not hear the steps of their paws. The king slowed his pace and looked up at the sky, examining the twinkling stars. Banzai and one of the other hyenas stopped and looked up a with him, as if baffled by the sight of the sky. Spotting this, Kula rolled her eyes, and continued towards Pride Rock.

Once she was a few meters away, Scar grabbed Banzai’s ear roughly, and hissed to him: “Go to Shenzi. Remember, I want it done quick—do not give him a chance to escape.”

Banzai nodded and ran off with the other hyena, as Scar caught up with Kula.

~~~

Well then! Now we know the whole circumstances behind Kovu’s “adoption” into Scar’s family, in my headcanon Here’s a link to the whole folder , for the full story.

I wanted this story to be like a dark mirror of this one , which comes a little while later in the timeline. While Zuri’s origin is awkward and comical with only hints of darkness, Kovu’s is... well, just kinda miserable. His bio father is dead, his bio mother is living on false hope and eventually dies as well, leaving Kovu with no other possible caretaker than Zira. ...I love Kovu, but he just presses my ‘tragedy’ button

Description
Previous

~~~

Even to feline eyes, the Pridelands were dark. The endless sea of glittering stars couldn’t compensate for the new moon, and the dried out, grey landscape had begun to all look the same. But Kula knew the way to her spot by heart, and she would have found their meeting place on this night even if she’d been blind.

Ni could come to her, tonight. She didn’t want to strain herself by jumping over the river.

“Kula? Kula!”

She turned her ears towards his voice, and soon heard him land on the Pridelanders’ side of the border. Ni watched her for a few moments, and when she didn’t turn to face him, he approached cautiously.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes and no,” she answered, in a whisper.

Ni waited for her to continue, or at least look him in the face. When she didn’t, he said; “I wasn’t able to catch any prey, tonight. Even when it’s this dark, I usually do better—but I don’t think they’ve all run away. I wonder if.... Kula.” He put his paw under her chin, and gently turned her face towards his. “Come on, gorgeous, at least look at me. If something’s wrong, you’ve gotta tell me.”

“I’m...” She sighed. “I’m not trying to be difficult. It just isn’t easy to tell you.”

“Did Scar up the penalty for trespassing, or something?”

“No, that’s not it. Ni, I’m... I’m pregnant.”

The lion went stiff. A moment passed in brutal silence, before he finally choked out: “How can—? But, no, we—we were careful!” He looked at her pleadingly, but she offered no more. “We—you—you can’t be pregnant! We made sure to—!”

“We weren’t careful enough,” she replied, with a nervous laugh, “At some point, we must have messed up.”

Kula had had all day to come to terms with it, having gone to Rafiki early in the morning to inquire about her weight gain, which had made no sense to be experiencing during a famine. She had gone through the same baffled panic that Ni was experiencing, but a dull acceptance had crept in since then. If the situation had been different, it would have been a little funny to see her usually unflappable partner in such a state—as it was, Kula just felt sad.

Ni sat down. He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again. The lioness waited, knowing there was nothing she could say to him that would help.

“We’ve talked about kids,” he murmured at last.

“Yes.”

“We both said we want them, someday. That’s still true, right?”

“It’s true for me,” she said.

“Me too. Do you want to raise kids now?” he asked, slowly.

Kula answered without hesitation—it was all she had thought about since sunrise. “Yes.”

“Then I’m begging you, Kula!” Ni cried, standing up so quickly that she stepped back in surprise, “Come with me!”

Before she could say a word in response, he pressed his forehead to hers, lovingly.

“I can’t tell you we’ll just walk right into a sanctuary,” Ni said, “The drought doesn’t end at the Pridelands’ border, I know. But this—now it’s bigger than you and me.”

“Ni—“

“Please, just hear me out!” He stepped back, looking into Kula’s eyes intensely. “If you have this litter, you can’t have them here! There’s no food, no water—Scar’s gone nuts, the hyenas are everywhere, it’s like he’s keeping the whole pride locked up! It’s bad enough you being here, but we can’t raise cubs here.”

“Ni, I—“

“And I know, I know Scar will get worse if he loses another pride member,” Ni interrupted, “I know all the runaways made him paranoid, you’ve told me, but that’s exactly why it isn’t safe here. You want to put the pride first, I’ve heard it, but I can’t—we can’t—if we’re having this litter... then we need to put the cubs first.”

Kula could feel the tears welling up in her eyes. She nuzzled her head under Ni’s chin, and put her arm around him.

“You don’t have to convince me,” she said, and felt him collapse gratefully into her embrace. “This time, I am coming with you.”

For some time, they simply held each other under the starlight. When they finally pulled apart, both of the lions were beaming.

“I wish we could take the whole pride with us,” Kula said, “But I know we’ve gotta just run.”

“Someday, maybe we can come back,” Ni said, although Kula could tell he was only trying to be comforting. “Scar won’t be king forever, it’ll change someday—in our lifetimes!”

She nodded, before looking out over the river and into the dark, sprawling Outlands.

“But I’ll show you there’s so much out there!” he continued, nuzzling her cheek. “There’s animals like you’ve never imagined, there’s mountains and swamps and jungles to explore! Kula, you’ve got so much to see!”

“Well then,” she smiled, “Where do you want to go first?”

A loud, dramatic yawn broke the peace of the night, and the two spun around to face the sound.

“That’s all very touching,” Scar purred, as he stepped out from behind a towering rock, “If I were more of a romantic, it would bring a tear to my eye.”

Ni and Kula sprang to their feet, and scrambled into fighting stances. Ni stepped in front of her, and dug his claws into the ground.

“Before you do anything hasty,” the king said, “Ask if two against one-hundred seems like good odds.”

From the surrounding darkness, a cacophony of shrill laughter rang out. Emerging out of dry scrub bushes and from behind boulders, the lions could suddenly see Scar’s hyenas approaching—their dark spots kept them half blended into the night, but by the volume of their laughter it seemed Scar was not exaggerating their numbers. The two lions shrank back, huddling together.

“What do you wanna do with ‘em, Scar?” asked one of the hyenas, who Kula recognized as being called Banzai. “Why’ve we been waiting to catch ‘em?”

“Yeah, he’s a trespasser!” said another hyena, “Lay down the law already, let us eat ‘em!”

“Hey!” said Ni, sternly, “We were just leaving, your majesty. I didn’t realize I had trespassed, I’m sorry. Kula and I are just going to—“

“Don’t play dumb, it will only make this night go on longer,” Scar interrupted, “And I’ve had quite enough of waiting. You both know that trespassing is a crime, and that the penalty is death.”

“The penalty—!” Kula began.

“Is death,” Scar stated, “As of today. I’ve informed Zira, she’ll tell you the same. The penalty for desertion, well, that you’re aware of.”

“Death,” said Kula, “Again. Your laws are ridiculous, Scar, y’know everybody thinks that you’re insa—“

“Desperate times call for desperate measures!”

Scar strode in a circle around them, looking the lions over. As he walked, several of the hyenas followed behind, stopping when they found themselves behind Kula and Ni—they had blocked the jump into the Outlands.

“Y’know,” Ni growled, “If it’s execution or going down fighting... I think I’ll take my chances!”

He leaped upon the king, causing the both of them to slam into the dusty, rocky ground. Within moments, Ni had been wrenched away by a dozen of the hyenas, and he braced himself for a painful skirmish. To his surprise, he did not feel teeth invading his mane or any claws piercing his flesh. The weight of them on his half-starved body meant that he couldn’t get up, but the hyenas were not attacking. Ni opened his eyes.

Scar was rubbing the back of his head with his paw, and grimacing. Across from him, Kula had been corralled against a boulder by the clan.

“What a lovely partner you’ve chosen, Kula,” Scar grumbled, “With luck, your cubs will inherit his strength, but not his rashness.”

“What are you talking about?” asked Kula, “They’re not going to inherit anything, you’re having their mother killed!”

“You don’t wonder at all why I haven’t stopped your little meetings until now, do you?” When he got no answer, Scar sighed dramatically and continued. “I would love to spare you, you’re far more useful alive than dead. The law says what it says, of course, nothing anybody can do about that—but, if you were to try and make up for your crimes... I could be persuaded to make an exception, just this once.”

Kula and Ni exchanged glances.

“Let him up, and then tell us what you want,” she said.

Scar shrugged, and motioned for the clan to move away from Ni.

“The queen and I have not had adequate cubs,” Scar said, once the lion had gotten to his paws again. “You know we had many plans in store, for the kingdom’s future—we abolished the tradition of the eldest cub inheriting. We were going to pick the best of our cubs to be our heir, once they had proved their worth over their siblings. It was to usher in a new era of strength, for the Pridelands.”

“Foolproof,” said Kula.

“And very healthy,” added Ni.

“The cubs haven’t been,” he responded, flatly, “Nuka is a runt, the rest are dead. Zira and I are expecting another litter, soon; I don’t have high hopes.”

Scar met Kula’s eyes, and she swiftly looked away. Ni tried to step closer to her, but immediately found himself surrounded by the hyenas.

“I had to come up with a new plan,” said Scar, “If I cannot rely on my own cubs to take my place, then I will need somebody else’s.”

“No!” they shouted in unison. The hyenas closed in tightly around them, before they could move.

“You will not take our cubs!” Ni barked, though he kept himself from pushing back against the clan.

“Give what I’m saying a moment’s thought, you imbeciles. Would you prefer that the both of you die here and now? Or would you prefer that you—and your litter—live?”

Kula growled, and Ni looked at the king with suspicion.

“You’d have us just walk back to Pride Rock, and join the royal family?” she asked.

“Oh, hardly. Your friend here would be allowed to return to the Outlands, or wherever it is he came from, unharmed. You would return to Pride Rock—“

“No!”

“—where you’ll eventually have your litter, I’ll select the strongest among them, and Zira and I will take it into our care. After that, you can take the rest and do whatever you like with them. Compare this to your other option...” Scar mimed weighing two objects, with his paws. “Well, I’d say the choice is obvious.”

“What if one of your next cubs is perfect?” asked Ni, “What happens to Kula, then? And our litter?”

“Whatever she likes,” said Scar, “It’s none of my business—she can take them to you, and you’ll all walk off into the sunset together.”

“Kula,” he said quickly, turning back to her, “What do we do?”

“We can’t let him raise one of our cubs,” she said, glaring at Scar, “He can’t raise his own son!”

“Your cub will grow up in the lap of luxury,” Scar chuckled, “Say what you will about me, but the cub who ends up in my family will be far happier than it would have been otherwise. It’ll have food and water, for one, not to mention the whole world handed to it when I’m gone.”

“He’s right,” said Ni, after a moment, “The cub... it would be okay.”

Kula met Ni’s eyes. Silence descended over them, save for the snickering and grumbling of the surrounding hyenas.

“I don’t want to leave you,” she said.

“You don’t have much of a choice,” Scar butted in, “It would hardly be safe to have you both haunting Pride Rock.”

“You’re insane,” said Kula, with a growl.

Ni took a step towards her. The hyenas moved to stop him, but he looked to Scar pleadingly, and the king waved them off. He watched the couple with one eyebrow cocked, as Ni put his arm around Kula.

“Your majesty,” he said, “Can Kula and I talk in private?’

Scar looked across the vast sea of hyenas.

“No,” he said, “Obviously not.”

“Not like—we won’t go anywhere, just... can you all back off, just a little? So Kula and I can talk this over?”

Scar thought for a moment, before he held up his paws in defeat and stepped away.

“Spread out,” he shouted to the hyenas, “Keep in a circle, but give them some air.”

Ni and Kula couldn’t see the clan clearly anymore, it only took a few steps for them to blend into one dark mass in the night. Their mumbling and chattering made it clear that they had only gone as far as they had to, however—all exits were still guarded.

Kula laid her head on his shoulder, and whispered into his ear; “I think... I think we have to give him what he wants. I can’t see any way out of this, where we don’t lose our lives.”

Ni moved to nuzzle the lioness, and whispered to her; “I know—but it isn’t going to go how he expects.”

Kula squeezed his paw in reply, and waited.

“I don’t have a lot of friends out in the world, but I have some. I’m gonna go back to my homeland, and tell the king and queen what’s going on here. They’re good friends, Kula, and good leaders: they’ll bring an army to liberate the Pridelands.”

“Are you sure you’ll be safe out there?”

“I always have been before. And until I come back, you and the cubs will be safe here—he’s not going to hurt you while he needs you.” Ni giggled, and added; “You’ll probably be fed double what you are now, and won’t be on the hunts. You’ll be sitting pretty for a few months, then I’ll bust in with a herd of angry elephants to run Scar and his followers outta here.”

They pulled away from each other.

“I love you,” said Kula.

“I love you, too.”

“Have you come to a conclusion at last?” asked Scar, who had reclined upon a dead tree, “Will the darling romantics be dying together, or taking my generous offer?”

“Yeah!” one of the hyenas barked, “Hurry it up!”

“We accept,” said Kula, holding her head high.

“Brilliant,” Scar replied, standing up and stretching luxuriously, “I’m glad you’ve made the sensible choice. If you’ve said your goodbyes, Shenzi and some of her clan will make sure that the fellow is gone. Kula, you’ll walk with me and the rest back to Pride Rock.”

The couple glanced at each other, but were quickly separated by a group of the hyenas shoving at Ni.

“Get going!” said one of them, who Kula recognized as Shenzi, “You’re getting out-out, not just that little jump over the river out!”

“Okay, okay, I’m moving!”

Ni hurried forward, and found himself flanked by nearly half of the clan. The rest stayed by Scar and Kula, who were already getting up and heading in the direction of Pride Rock.

“I’ll see you!” Ni called out, unable to keep himself from smirking.

“See you,” she repeated, with a smile of her own.

It wasn’t long before Ni and the hyenas had fully disappeared into the dark of the night. After a while, Kula and Scar could not hear the steps of their paws. The king slowed his pace and looked up at the sky, examining the twinkling stars. Banzai and one of the other hyenas stopped and looked up a with him, as if baffled by the sight of the sky. Spotting this, Kula rolled her eyes, and continued towards Pride Rock.

Once she was a few meters away, Scar grabbed Banzai’s ear roughly, and hissed to him: “Go to Shenzi. Remember, I want it done quick—do not give him a chance to escape.”

Banzai nodded and ran off with the other hyena, as Scar caught up with Kula.

~~~

Well then! Now we know the whole circumstances behind Kovu’s “adoption” into Scar’s family, in my headcanon Here’s a link to the whole folder , for the full story.

I wanted this story to be like a dark mirror of this one , which comes a little while later in the timeline. While Zuri’s origin is awkward and comical with only hints of darkness, Kovu’s is... well, just kinda miserable. His bio father is dead, his bio mother is living on false hope and eventually dies as well, leaving Kovu with no other possible caretaker than Zira. ...I love Kovu, but he just presses my ‘tragedy’ button