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Description
As the light of midday trickled into the den, Nuka attempted to stand up on his wobbly legs and reach towards it—even with his eyes barely opened, he was already curious about the outside world. It was the first time Scar had had a day alone with his son. Zira had taken several weeks off from strenuous activity, but was eager to stretch her legs again, and had taken her hunting party out to catch dinner. Scar ran his tongue gently along Nuka’s spotted back, which the cub protested with a few disgruntled squeaks.

“Scar?” called Sarabi, from outside of the den, “Do you mind if I come in?”

“Hmm? No, come in,” Scar answered, surprised.

The lioness entered, haloed by the afternoon sun, and approached her brother-in-law with a smile.

“I know we’ve had a lot of differences since you took the throne, Scar,” said Sarabi, warmly, “But allow me to say that your son is absolutely gorgeous.”

“Yes, yes he is,” the king replied, his voice far more cheerful than usual, “I dare say he’s the most adorable cub there ever was. But seeing as he takes after me, that might be a bit self-serving.”

Sarabi chuckled. “I wonder, though,” she said, “Why haven’t you had his presentation yet? Nuka’s about the same age that Si—“ she cut herself off, before she finished speaking her son’s name. “Nuka’s about the right age.”

Scar let a moment of awkward silence pass, before he casually replied; “He won’t be having a presentation.”

“What? Why not?”

“He isn’t my heir, at least not yet.”

“He isn’t your heir?” Sarabi balked.

“Zira and I have decided that we’re doing away with the old system,” he said, “We want to take a more fair approach, when it comes to succession. Instead of the eldest inheriting automatically, all of my cubs will be equally eligible for the throne; they’ll just have to prove to me that they deserve it.”

“What do you mean, ‘that they deserve it’?”

“Well, for instance, Nuka is weak and scrawny. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a darling boy, but my next cub might be much stronger. The cub after that might be much smarter, or smarter and stronger—the first born cub isn’t necessarily the best candidate for the throne, you see. I believe that all of the royal children deserve a chance to prove themselves worthy.”

“I... I see. I can’t say that I’m not surprised, but you do have a point.”

“I think that this will move the Pridelands into a much more fair, unbiased era. Don’t you?”

“It’s a lot to get used to, but I think you may be right.”

Sarabi was about to change the subject, when she suddenly realized—

“What about your second eldest? When they inherit the Roar of the Elders, Nuka and any others you have will be at a complete disadvantage. They won’t be able to compete with the Lion Guard at all.”

A wide, overly innocent smile spread across Scar’s face.

“They could still be outsmarted by one of the others,” he said, “There’s been plenty of idiot Guards in Pridelands history, you know.”

Fuming, Sarabi looked away from the king, and took a moment to collect herself.

“You’re not doing this out of a desire for a ‘fair, unbiased’ Pridelands,” she spoke, her tone clipped, “After all these years, you’re still bitter that you were once the second most powerful lion in the kingdom.”

“If one of my cubs happens to be twice as clever as Nuka,” he said, though he curled his paw protectively around the cub, “I think it’s only fair that they have a chance to prove themselves.”

“You’re not worried about these cubs who don’t even exist yet—you’re already planning to live through them! You want to one-up Mufasa, even when he’s dead and—!”

“Do not speak of Mufasa in my presence!”

Sarabi growled, the fur on the back of her neck rising up.

“Your cubs,” she said, turning away from him and walking towards the mouth of the den, “Will suffer in competing for your affection more than you ever suffered from your jealousy.”

~~~

Cheeky wee story to explaining stuff, cause I suddenly had the inspiration—it always seemed un-regal for Scar to ignore the tradition of making the eldest of his cubs his heir. Sure, the king can do whatever he wants, but how did he explain that to the others in the pride? So... here’s my headcanon for how he explained that to the others in the pride And btw, Sarabi’s correct, this is not at all coming from a desire for a more fair world. This is 100% just Scar being bitter, he only loves democracy in the Palpatine sense

Description
As the light of midday trickled into the den, Nuka attempted to stand up on his wobbly legs and reach towards it—even with his eyes barely opened, he was already curious about the outside world. It was the first time Scar had had a day alone with his son. Zira had taken several weeks off from strenuous activity, but was eager to stretch her legs again, and had taken her hunting party out to catch dinner. Scar ran his tongue gently along Nuka’s spotted back, which the cub protested with a few disgruntled squeaks.

“Scar?” called Sarabi, from outside of the den, “Do you mind if I come in?”

“Hmm? No, come in,” Scar answered, surprised.

The lioness entered, haloed by the afternoon sun, and approached her brother-in-law with a smile.

“I know we’ve had a lot of differences since you took the throne, Scar,” said Sarabi, warmly, “But allow me to say that your son is absolutely gorgeous.”

“Yes, yes he is,” the king replied, his voice far more cheerful than usual, “I dare say he’s the most adorable cub there ever was. But seeing as he takes after me, that might be a bit self-serving.”

Sarabi chuckled. “I wonder, though,” she said, “Why haven’t you had his presentation yet? Nuka’s about the same age that Si—“ she cut herself off, before she finished speaking her son’s name. “Nuka’s about the right age.”

Scar let a moment of awkward silence pass, before he casually replied; “He won’t be having a presentation.”

“What? Why not?”

“He isn’t my heir, at least not yet.”

“He isn’t your heir?” Sarabi balked.

“Zira and I have decided that we’re doing away with the old system,” he said, “We want to take a more fair approach, when it comes to succession. Instead of the eldest inheriting automatically, all of my cubs will be equally eligible for the throne; they’ll just have to prove to me that they deserve it.”

“What do you mean, ‘that they deserve it’?”

“Well, for instance, Nuka is weak and scrawny. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a darling boy, but my next cub might be much stronger. The cub after that might be much smarter, or smarter and stronger—the first born cub isn’t necessarily the best candidate for the throne, you see. I believe that all of the royal children deserve a chance to prove themselves worthy.”

“I... I see. I can’t say that I’m not surprised, but you do have a point.”

“I think that this will move the Pridelands into a much more fair, unbiased era. Don’t you?”

“It’s a lot to get used to, but I think you may be right.”

Sarabi was about to change the subject, when she suddenly realized—

“What about your second eldest? When they inherit the Roar of the Elders, Nuka and any others you have will be at a complete disadvantage. They won’t be able to compete with the Lion Guard at all.”

A wide, overly innocent smile spread across Scar’s face.

“They could still be outsmarted by one of the others,” he said, “There’s been plenty of idiot Guards in Pridelands history, you know.”

Fuming, Sarabi looked away from the king, and took a moment to collect herself.

“You’re not doing this out of a desire for a ‘fair, unbiased’ Pridelands,” she spoke, her tone clipped, “After all these years, you’re still bitter that you were once the second most powerful lion in the kingdom.”

“If one of my cubs happens to be twice as clever as Nuka,” he said, though he curled his paw protectively around the cub, “I think it’s only fair that they have a chance to prove themselves.”

“You’re not worried about these cubs who don’t even exist yet—you’re already planning to live through them! You want to one-up Mufasa, even when he’s dead and—!”

“Do not speak of Mufasa in my presence!”

Sarabi growled, the fur on the back of her neck rising up.

“Your cubs,” she said, turning away from him and walking towards the mouth of the den, “Will suffer in competing for your affection more than you ever suffered from your jealousy.”

~~~

Cheeky wee story to explaining stuff, cause I suddenly had the inspiration—it always seemed un-regal for Scar to ignore the tradition of making the eldest of his cubs his heir. Sure, the king can do whatever he wants, but how did he explain that to the others in the pride? So... here’s my headcanon for how he explained that to the others in the pride And btw, Sarabi’s correct, this is not at all coming from a desire for a more fair world. This is 100% just Scar being bitter, he only loves democracy in the Palpatine sense