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The first thing Nuka felt when he hit the water was not, surprisingly, pain, as he expected from such a height. No, that came later. The first thing he felt was cold. It wasn't the fall that knocked the wind out of him, but rather the chill of the water.
Then came the pain.
Nuka wanted to cry out in pain, but two things kept him from doing so. First off, he had Kivuli gripped tightly in his jaws. Secondly, almost as soon as the pair of them landed in the water, the current dragged them under. The scraggly lion struggled to get his baring’s. He had to find the surface, and quickly, before both he and Kivuli drowned. The last thing he wanted was to join his mother in this watery grave.
Swimming towards what he hoped was up, it wasn't long before his and Kivuli's heads broke the surface of the water again. He heard Kivuli cough up water (Good! The termite made it! Nuka thought), however as soon as the pair of them managed to get a lung full of oxygen, they were dragged under once more. Once again Nuka swam back up to the surface, struggling to keep both Kivuli's head and his own head above the raging waters. Having the extra weight of Kivuli to drag him down didn't help, and it was now that he was beginning to feel grateful for his mother's harsh training. He may not have been given the same training as Kovu, but he went through the same training regiment as all the other Outlanders, as required by Zira, thus not only did he know how to swim ("Swimming will build up your endurance as well as your tolerance towards lower temperatures!" Nuka recalled his mother saying once), but he could swim for a long amount of time if needed. In fact, he became one of the best swimmers in the Out Lands, just to impress his mother (it didn't work).
Now he could only hope that his training would pay off.
~*~*~*~*~
"Oi! Lion!" came an angry growl.
The lion in question, an old tan male, lifted his head in response. He lifted his grass green eyes to meet the eyes of a leopard, one who seemed none too happy. Yet despite the nasty snarl on the leopard's face, the old lion put on a smile.
"Hello Boseda." The lion greeted gently. "How are you on this fine day?"
"Cut the crap old man!" Boseda snarled. "You know why I'm here. Yer rent's due today. Ya know the drill; one water buffalo, two zebra, or three gazelle, your choice. So pay up!"
The older male flinched slightly. He was well aware of what day it was. The so-called "Keeper of the Land," who was another, younger male lion, allowed the elderly lion to live here on his property. Thanks to the Keeper, the old lion had a safe place to live out the rest of his days. However the Keeper wasn't letting him stay for free. The other lion expects payment in return, payment of which was in prey. He often sent his goons to collect payment. The old lion wasn't the only tenant on this land, he knew. There were other predators here, too, who also paid rent. And not paying your rent meant more than just eviction.
Knowing rent day was coming up, the lion hunted for days to get the required prey. However, due to the drought that has struck the lands, many of the prey animals had left, making hunting quite difficult. It was hard enough to hunt for himself, but to hunt for the Keeper as well? Luck was not on his side, and in the end the best he was able to do was take down a small warthog. Unfortunately the Keeper hated the taste of warthog, so that would not due as payment at all. The lion was left with nothing to give the Keeper.
"Listen...I...You see...Well..."
"Well, what!?" the leopard snapped, lashing his tail impatiently.
"I...don't have my rent." the lion admitted.
"No rent, eh? Well then, looks like you ain't got no place to live now!" Boseda sneered. "Of course, you'll still have ta pay for the boss's hospitality....Ya know, he could probably use a new fur rug!" With a flick of his tail, six Cape dogs stalked out of the grass behind him, snarling.
The elderly lion jumped up and quickly backed away from the leopard and his Cape dogs friends, who were now advancing towards him with teeth bared and claws extended. If it were just the leopard, the lion figured he might just be able to win. After all, even in his old age he still had some size and muscle to him. But with the Cape dogs, too? No, he didn't stand a chance. Not at his age.
"N-N-Now wait a moment Boseda! Let's not be hasty!" the lion stuttered.
"You know what happens ta free loaders! Get 'im boys!"
As soon as the Cape dogs leaped towards him, the old lion quickly turned tail and ran as fast as his old legs could take him. He ran through the lands, twisting and turning, doing everything he could to lose his pursuers. They were young and persistent, but the older male had experience on his side. When they started to get too close for comfort, the lion decided to switch tactics.
He spun around to face them, pausing for a moment. Waiting until the right moment, the lion leaped over the Cape dogs, who were heading the chase, and landed right on top of Boseda. The leopard, though big for one of his species, was still unable to hold the sudden weight of an adult male lion, and was quickly squished to the ground under the lion. Before the Cape dogs had time to realize what just happened (and before Boseda managed to get some air back in his lungs to warn them), the lion hefted Boseda up by the scruff and tossed him into the group of Cape dogs. The Cape dogs let out yelps and squeaks of surprise and pain as they were suddenly squished under their large leopard companion. Using their confusion to his advantage, the lion quickly started running away again before they had any time to get back on their feet. By the time Boseda got the Cape dogs back on their feet with a couple of good swats to their rumps, the lion was long gone.
The lion ran for miles, not stopping for anything, even though his feet ached and his lungs hurt. He knew he had to keep going, for Boseda and the Cape dogs would continue to come after him. The lion did not stop running until he finally made it to the river bank at the edge of the Keeper's territory, where he finally collapsed in exhaustion. For a long while the lion did nothing but lay there, gasping for air. Eventually, when he regained enough strength, he dragged himself to the water, where he began to drink.
It was as he was drinking his fill that he noticed something strange on the other side of the river bank. Pausing with his tongue still sticking out part way, the lion narrowed his eyes towards the strange shapes. After staring for a moment, the lion suddenly realized that those shapes weren’t just a pile of mud or some sticks. They were lions!
"By the Great Kings!" the lion exclaimed.
Forgetting his exhaustion, the lion leaped up to his feet and waded over to the other side of the river bank. Luckily for him, the river wasn't too deep here, so he only had to swim once he got to the very middle, and even then it was only for a few strokes. Thus he was by the other two lions in no time. Now he could get a better look at the two. One was a young adult, with a thin, scraggly black mane and reddish brown fur, while the other was a small golden cub who was just beginning to grow his mane.
"Poor things." the lion murmured, shaking his head. "I wonder where they came from." The lion checked to see if the pair were breathing. To his relief, they were. Knowing these two were alive, he now knew what he had to do. He knew he couldn't leave these lions here. Not in the Keeper's lands. Either they'd be force to pay rent once they woke up (if they woke up) or they'd be killed. So, throwing the young adult on his back and picking the cub up in his jaws, the old lion headed away from the Keeper's lands as quickly as he could.
~*~*~*~*~
"You'll never amount to anything! Worthless termite! You're no son of mine..."
"You? King? Ha! What a joke! Everyone knows Kovu's gonna be King..."
"Why can't you be more like Kovu!? Idiot! It's clear why he was made the Chosen One over you..."
"You and your kind get out! I will have no followers of Scar in my lands, nor any of his tainted spawn..."
"Nuka...! Nuka...! Nuka, wake up!"
Eyes flying open, Nuka woke up with a gasp. He had been dreaming of the voices of his father, sister, mother, and cousin throwing insults at him, when a voice he recognized as not belonging to any of them cut through the darkness. Now he found himself staring into the cheerful face of his newest charge, Kivuli. Glancing around, Nuka noticed they were in a grassy field, no longer near the river, although he could hear it in the distance.
"Hooray! You're awake!" the cub cheered, bouncing up and down with a grin on his face.
"Yeah, I'm awake. Hooray." Nuka agreed with far less enthusiasm. "Now what happened? And where are we?"
"Well..." Kivuli said, plopping down onto his rump. "You kinda threw us into a raging river to get away from King Simba and his pride, where we almost drowned."
"Oh yeah..." Nuka murmured. "The river in the Great Gorge. Right. Continue."
"So you kept us afloat, so we ended up following the river until we got the the Keeper's lands, where you then dragged us out of the water and we must of passed out because that's where---!"
"Whoa whoa whoa! Slow down! Who's lands?" Nuka interjected.
"The Keeper's lands." a new voice said.
Nuka immediately sprung to his feet, despite his body's protests. Instinctively he put himself between Kivuli and the new lion, letting out a low warning growl. The new lion, noticing Nuka's threatening posture, quickly backed up.
"Whoa there sonny! Calm down! I'm not going to hurt you or your young friend here." the older lion insisted, attempting to make himself look as non-threatening as possible.
"Who are you!?" Nuka demanded, eyes narrowing into slits. Despite what the lion said, Nuka didn't trust him at all. The lion before him, though obviously much, much older with gray already running through his fur, was larger than him, and more muscular. Even at his advanced age he could pose a threat to Nuka and Kivuli, if he wanted to.
"Nuka, stop being rude!" Kivuli growled, smacking Nuka's leg with his paw. "This lion saved our lives!"
"This old geezer?" the reddish brown lion questioned. Nuka wasn't quite sure if he believed it. It would take a lot of strength to carry a young adult such as himself away from the river, especially with the added weight of an older cub on top of that. This lion may be large, but he was old. Surely his joints couldn't handle such strain.
"Yes, sonny, I did indeed save you. If it weren't for me, you'd be at the mercy of the Keeper!" the elderly lion said with a smile.
"All right. Let's say I believe you here. Why would you, a male rogue, save us, also male rogues?"
"Not all rogues are selfish, brutish thugs! Some of us actually want to help other lions!" the lion snorted. He sat down, putting a paw on his chest in a dainty manner. "And, I'll have you know, I was a king before I was a rogue, so it's not as if I wasn't raised without some sort of chivalry."
"Whoa!" Kivuli gasped, stepping out from behind Nuka's legs with a look of wonder on his face. "You were a king?"
"And I was once a flying warthog." Nuka snorted, rolling his eyes.
Ignoring Nuka's comment, the old lion chuckled and placed a gentle paw on top of Kivuli's head, answering him. "Indeed I was, little one! Why, I was a king for a good many years before I became a rogue! I can still remember what it was like to live in a pride, almost as if it were yesterday..."
"But how come you aren't a king now?" the golden cub asked. The old lion sighed, a look of sorrow crossing his old features.
"The same thing that happens to many kings when they get old, little one. I was challenged by a younger, fitter male, and I lost. Thus, I lost my kingship and was exiled from my own kingdom."
"Oh..."
"Look, this is all very interesting, and I'm sure you were a great king before you got booted off your throne, but you still haven't told me who the hell you are!" Nuka interrupted with a snarl.
"Watch your language sonny! There's a child here!" the older lion snapped. Kivuli giggled at this, but Nuka quickly silenced him with a glare not unlike the ones his mother used to give to him. "My name, if you must know, is Kafeel. Happy now, sonny?"
"I'll be happy when you stop calling me "sonny"." Nuka growled.
"Well it's not as if I know you're names. It's proper etiquette to give one's own name before asking, you know."
Nuka was about to give him a nasty retort, however he was quickly cut off by Kivuli, who was oblivious to the animosity between the two older lions.
"My name's Kivuli, and this is my friend Nuka!" the cub said with excitement. Kafeel's features immediately changed from a snarl to a smile when Kivuli spoke.
"Well, it's very nice to meet you Kivuli." Looking back up to Nuka, he added, "And you, too, Nuka. Even if you're a bit on the rude side..."
Nuka grunted in reply. This lion annoyed Nuka to no end, talking about chivalry and etiquette. Who cares? Perhaps if they were in a pride, it would matter, but they were rogues! Throw that elephant crap off a cliff! No one cared if you had any sort of manners out in the wilderness. It was a dog-eat-dog world out here, and this lion cared about something as stupid as good manners. Frankly, it pissed Nuka off. It felt like this...Kafeel...was being demeaning towards him just because his manners weren't up to his standards. And yet he was perfectly fine with Kivuli, who was just as bad as he was when it came to manners. At least Nuka didn't wake others up at the wee hours of the morning.
Suddenly Kafeel jumped to his feet. His grass green eyes were wide and his ears were pricked. His claws (which happened to stick out like Nuka's, the younger lion noticed) kneaded the grown below them. Nuka frowned and pricked up his own ears. Did the old geezer hear something he didn't? Now that he thought about it, he could hear voices off into the distance, although he couldn't make out what they were saying. Was that what had the old lion worried?
"We need to leave. Now." Kafeel said, his voice lowering to just above a whisper.
"Why?" Kivuli asked rather loudly. Kafeel quickly shushed him, placing a toe on his mouth.
"Just trust me. I'll explain on the way. Now follow me if you want to live!"
Kafeel then quickly took off in the opposite direction of the voices. Nuka was about to protest, as he still didn't completely trust Kafeel, but before he could say anything Kivuli had gone off after him. Cursing the naive young cub (as well as his luck), Nuka sprinted after the pair, hoping that where ever this lion was taking them, it wasn't going to be worse than the supposed owners of the voices.
~*~*~*~*~
An hour had passed by the time Nuka finally decided to break the silence. The sun was just beginning to dip down in the sky, and Nuka could just barely see the moon sharing the sky with the sun. Sunrise and sunset were some of the few times you could see the two together, and while some lions found that fascinating, Nuka couldn't care any less. Especially now, when right now all he wanted was some answers.
"All right old man! That's it! What in the name of the Great Spirit did you just drag us into!?" Nuka snarled.
"Well, I suppose you two do deserve an explanation now that I've dragged you into my troubles." Kafeel sighed, glancing back over his shoulder at the pair of lions following behind him.
"Ya think?"
"Stop being so rude to to Kafeel, Nuka. It's not very shilv...sherv...sheevel..."
"Chivalrous." Kafeel corrected gently.
"Yeah! That!" Kivuli replied with a smile.
"Pfft. Whatever." Nuka snorted, rolling his eyes.
"Hmph! How rude! It's obvious you're not born from royalty. If you were, you would care about chivalry a bit more." Kafeel sniffed.
Nuka felt anger bubble up at this. How dare this old fart look down on him! How dare he just assume he wasn't of royal blood simply because he wasn't as pompous or neat or polite as this old geezer! How dare he! This lion has no idea who he is, where he's from, or what he's had to go through in his life, and he had the audacity to assume he was of lesser status simply because his manners weren't up to snuff. He was a prince damn it! An exiled prince, but a prince none the less.
"Shut up! Just shut up! Ugh! Chivalry chivalry chivalry! Is that all you can talk about, old man!?" Nuka snarled. "Who gives a damn about chivalry!? It doesn't matter if you were royalty before! We're rogues now! R-O-G-U-E-S rogues! We don't need to be nice, or friendly, or polite! And I doubt any other rogues we encounter will be very nice to us either!"
"Well with your attitude, of course not! Why should they be?" Kafeel snapped.
Nuka sent Kafeel a look full of venom. If looks could kill, Kafeel would have been a gonner. Kafeel returned a look that was just as equally venomous, but before either could say any more, they were interrupted by Kivuli, who was once again oblivious to the animosity between them.
"So why did we have to leave so quickly Kafeel?" the boy asked.
Ignoring Nuka's glare, Kafeel took a deep breath and began his tale.
"The reason we had to leave so fast was because those voices back there belonged to the Keeper's goons. If they'd have seen us, we'd have been killed on the spot. You see, it all started when the Keeper came upon his plot of land some years back. Unlike most young lions, who would simply take it all for themselves and start a pride, the Keeper decided to allow other predators -including lions- to live and hunt in his lands."
"He sounds pretty nice." Kivuli said.
"Not if he's sending people to kill us, moron!" the former Outlander snapped. Kivuli's flinched slightly, ears flattening at Nuka's tone. Kafeel sent Nuka a nasty glare, however instead of saying something equally as nasty Kafeel decided to continue with his tale.
"It may seem like a nice thing, but there's a catch. He doesn't allow these predators to live there for free. They have to pay rent to live on his land, and payment is usually in the form of prey, although I've heard he has made certain...exceptions...for females. Payment takes the form of either one water buffalo, two zebra, or three gazelle. And he won't take any other kind of prey as payment; just those three. People have been hurt or even died trying to get the right prey to pay their rent on time, either from hunting accidents, illness, or starvation."
"Well doesn't that sound wonderful?" Nuka grumbled. "So if living there was so bad, why didn't you just leave?"
"Well...That's the problem." the elderly lion said with a sigh. "You can't just leave. Not without paying some sort of price. Usually it's a hefty fine of three adult water buffalo to leave. Again, people have died trying to pay the Keeper. And if you get caught trying to leave without paying, he'll have his goons kill you. And if you don't pay your rent on time, he'll have his goons kill you."
"So if you don't pay to live there, you die, but if you leave without paying, you die as well? That's stupid!" the blue-eyed cub said with a frown.
"Stupid, yes, and life-threatening. But with all those predators hunting for him, he can pay others to do his dirty work for him. He has a pack of Cape dogs and a leopard by the name of Besoda to enforce his payment policies and rules. In return, they get free food, water, and shelter."
"So then why did you even decide to live there in the first place if it's so bad?"
"It happened a couple of years ago. You see, I had just been ousted. Injured and with nowhere to go, I accidently wandered here before I collapsed. The Keeper found me, and instead of killing me or chasing me away like most males, he told me that I was welcome to stay and recover from my wounds, or even longer if I wanted to. And how could I refuse? His land was rich with prey, and I needed a place to stay now that I was a rogue. It was only a week later that I was told the catch by his right hand man Besoda. And when I told him I would just leave, my life was threatened. I looked for ways to escape, but I found that the border guards in the form of Cape dogs were placed everywhere. They let people in, you see, but not out. Not without paying a fee anyways. Escape was nigh impossible."
"Whoa. That's...horrible." Kivuli murmured, eyes wide.
"Kinda reminds me when Da--Er, I mean, Scar," Nuka quickly corrected, not quite ready to let Kivuli or Kafeel know that he was the son of the Dark King Scar, "was king of the Pride Lands. No one was allowed to leave back then either. And attempting to leave the Pride Lands then, if caught, was punishable by death."
Kafeel nodded in understanding, saying, "And now you know how I fell into his trap. You see, that's how the Keeper gets his tenants. He comes to them when they're at their weakest, offers them food and sanctuary, and then once they settle in he makes it impossible for them to leave. We essentially become his slaves. It was by sheer luck alone that I managed to escape with you two. Obviously the Great Spirit must be watching over us."
"So hold up a moment. Why are we still traveling with you if you're the one they're after?" Nuka growled. "We should just dump your old hide and go on our marry way!"
"No!" Kivuli gasped. He grabbed Nuka's forepaw, causing Nuka to stumble to a hault. "We can't just leave him to die!"
"And why is that?"
"Because that would be wrong! Besides, he saved our lives! We owe him!"
Nuka sighed, placing a paw gently on top of Kivuli's head.
"Look kid, I get that you like this guy and all, but let's be real. He's old. He'll slow us down. He'll probably die soon anyways. And I can't hunt for three lions. It's hard enough just hunting for two! If we're gonna survive out here, we need to think about us first, okay kiddo?"
"I can hear you, you know. I haven't lost my hearing yet." Kafeel grumbled, saddling up to the pair. "Look sonny, just because I'm old doesn't mean I'm useless. I know a bit of herbology, I can fight when I need to, and I can hunt on my own just fine!"
"Oh really?" Nuka said, smirking. "Then how come you couldn't pay your rent, old man?"
"Because there's a drought comming and the herds are moving! Can't you sense it?" the old lion growled. "It's not like I can control the herds, you know."
"Hmm...If you're right about the drought, then we should probably move with the herds." Kivuli murmured thoughtfully. "That way we won't end up starving to death out here. Or dying of thirst, since they're probably migrating to a place where there's a lot of water and grass."
"Yes! Very good, little one." Kafeel purred. "That's exactly what we should do if we wish to survive. And get as far away from the Keeper's goons as possible."
"Whoa whoa whoa! Hold up there old man! Who said anything about you coming along?" Nuka growled.
"C'mon Nuka! You heard him! Can't he come with us? Please?" Kivuli looked up at Nuka with big, round, pleading eyes and a big grin. It was a look not unlike the one his own siblings used to give him when they wanted something from him as cubs. "Please please please please pleeeeeaaaasssssseeee?"
"Oh all right, fine! He can stay with us!" the reddish lion said, throwing his paws up in defeat. "Just stop saying "please" in that annoying voice!"
"Yes!" the cub cheered. "Did ya hear that Kafeel? You can stay with us!"
"Thank you, sonny. I know we got off on the wrong foot before, but I promise you I will help you to the best of my abilities. You won't regret this!"
"Yeah yeah, whatever. Let's just keep going."
Nuka trailed behind Kivuli and Kafeel, barely listening as the two jabbered on nonstop. Honestly he was already beginning to regret letting the old lion come along with them. Nuka was grateful for the extra set of eyes, but he feared that they may be more trouble than they were worth. He'd be able to lose the Keeper's lackeys easier if he only had to worry about Kivuli, but now he had Kafeel to worry about too. Not only that but one more lion in the group meant one more mouth to feed, and traveling through other lions' lands would be more difficult now that their group was larger.
Sigh. Maybe I should have just let myself drown in the river.
-------------------------------------------
NOTE: Alright! FINALLY done with Part 4! I was going to redo parts 1 and 2, but I thought I'd get this part done first. On a side note, the background is not mine. It's from a scene in TLK 2 where Kiara is hunting. So all credit goes to Disney on that one.

Bases: animenerd26.deviantart.com/art… , animenerd26.deviantart.com/art… , whitetigerdelight.deviantart.c…
Bases (c) , , , , and Disney
Background (c) Disney
TLK (c) Disney

Description

The first thing Nuka felt when he hit the water was not, surprisingly, pain, as he expected from such a height. No, that came later. The first thing he felt was cold. It wasn't the fall that knocked the wind out of him, but rather the chill of the water.
Then came the pain.
Nuka wanted to cry out in pain, but two things kept him from doing so. First off, he had Kivuli gripped tightly in his jaws. Secondly, almost as soon as the pair of them landed in the water, the current dragged them under. The scraggly lion struggled to get his baring’s. He had to find the surface, and quickly, before both he and Kivuli drowned. The last thing he wanted was to join his mother in this watery grave.
Swimming towards what he hoped was up, it wasn't long before his and Kivuli's heads broke the surface of the water again. He heard Kivuli cough up water (Good! The termite made it! Nuka thought), however as soon as the pair of them managed to get a lung full of oxygen, they were dragged under once more. Once again Nuka swam back up to the surface, struggling to keep both Kivuli's head and his own head above the raging waters. Having the extra weight of Kivuli to drag him down didn't help, and it was now that he was beginning to feel grateful for his mother's harsh training. He may not have been given the same training as Kovu, but he went through the same training regiment as all the other Outlanders, as required by Zira, thus not only did he know how to swim ("Swimming will build up your endurance as well as your tolerance towards lower temperatures!" Nuka recalled his mother saying once), but he could swim for a long amount of time if needed. In fact, he became one of the best swimmers in the Out Lands, just to impress his mother (it didn't work).
Now he could only hope that his training would pay off.
~*~*~*~*~
"Oi! Lion!" came an angry growl.
The lion in question, an old tan male, lifted his head in response. He lifted his grass green eyes to meet the eyes of a leopard, one who seemed none too happy. Yet despite the nasty snarl on the leopard's face, the old lion put on a smile.
"Hello Boseda." The lion greeted gently. "How are you on this fine day?"
"Cut the crap old man!" Boseda snarled. "You know why I'm here. Yer rent's due today. Ya know the drill; one water buffalo, two zebra, or three gazelle, your choice. So pay up!"
The older male flinched slightly. He was well aware of what day it was. The so-called "Keeper of the Land," who was another, younger male lion, allowed the elderly lion to live here on his property. Thanks to the Keeper, the old lion had a safe place to live out the rest of his days. However the Keeper wasn't letting him stay for free. The other lion expects payment in return, payment of which was in prey. He often sent his goons to collect payment. The old lion wasn't the only tenant on this land, he knew. There were other predators here, too, who also paid rent. And not paying your rent meant more than just eviction.
Knowing rent day was coming up, the lion hunted for days to get the required prey. However, due to the drought that has struck the lands, many of the prey animals had left, making hunting quite difficult. It was hard enough to hunt for himself, but to hunt for the Keeper as well? Luck was not on his side, and in the end the best he was able to do was take down a small warthog. Unfortunately the Keeper hated the taste of warthog, so that would not due as payment at all. The lion was left with nothing to give the Keeper.
"Listen...I...You see...Well..."
"Well, what!?" the leopard snapped, lashing his tail impatiently.
"I...don't have my rent." the lion admitted.
"No rent, eh? Well then, looks like you ain't got no place to live now!" Boseda sneered. "Of course, you'll still have ta pay for the boss's hospitality....Ya know, he could probably use a new fur rug!" With a flick of his tail, six Cape dogs stalked out of the grass behind him, snarling.
The elderly lion jumped up and quickly backed away from the leopard and his Cape dogs friends, who were now advancing towards him with teeth bared and claws extended. If it were just the leopard, the lion figured he might just be able to win. After all, even in his old age he still had some size and muscle to him. But with the Cape dogs, too? No, he didn't stand a chance. Not at his age.
"N-N-Now wait a moment Boseda! Let's not be hasty!" the lion stuttered.
"You know what happens ta free loaders! Get 'im boys!"
As soon as the Cape dogs leaped towards him, the old lion quickly turned tail and ran as fast as his old legs could take him. He ran through the lands, twisting and turning, doing everything he could to lose his pursuers. They were young and persistent, but the older male had experience on his side. When they started to get too close for comfort, the lion decided to switch tactics.
He spun around to face them, pausing for a moment. Waiting until the right moment, the lion leaped over the Cape dogs, who were heading the chase, and landed right on top of Boseda. The leopard, though big for one of his species, was still unable to hold the sudden weight of an adult male lion, and was quickly squished to the ground under the lion. Before the Cape dogs had time to realize what just happened (and before Boseda managed to get some air back in his lungs to warn them), the lion hefted Boseda up by the scruff and tossed him into the group of Cape dogs. The Cape dogs let out yelps and squeaks of surprise and pain as they were suddenly squished under their large leopard companion. Using their confusion to his advantage, the lion quickly started running away again before they had any time to get back on their feet. By the time Boseda got the Cape dogs back on their feet with a couple of good swats to their rumps, the lion was long gone.
The lion ran for miles, not stopping for anything, even though his feet ached and his lungs hurt. He knew he had to keep going, for Boseda and the Cape dogs would continue to come after him. The lion did not stop running until he finally made it to the river bank at the edge of the Keeper's territory, where he finally collapsed in exhaustion. For a long while the lion did nothing but lay there, gasping for air. Eventually, when he regained enough strength, he dragged himself to the water, where he began to drink.
It was as he was drinking his fill that he noticed something strange on the other side of the river bank. Pausing with his tongue still sticking out part way, the lion narrowed his eyes towards the strange shapes. After staring for a moment, the lion suddenly realized that those shapes weren’t just a pile of mud or some sticks. They were lions!
"By the Great Kings!" the lion exclaimed.
Forgetting his exhaustion, the lion leaped up to his feet and waded over to the other side of the river bank. Luckily for him, the river wasn't too deep here, so he only had to swim once he got to the very middle, and even then it was only for a few strokes. Thus he was by the other two lions in no time. Now he could get a better look at the two. One was a young adult, with a thin, scraggly black mane and reddish brown fur, while the other was a small golden cub who was just beginning to grow his mane.
"Poor things." the lion murmured, shaking his head. "I wonder where they came from." The lion checked to see if the pair were breathing. To his relief, they were. Knowing these two were alive, he now knew what he had to do. He knew he couldn't leave these lions here. Not in the Keeper's lands. Either they'd be force to pay rent once they woke up (if they woke up) or they'd be killed. So, throwing the young adult on his back and picking the cub up in his jaws, the old lion headed away from the Keeper's lands as quickly as he could.
~*~*~*~*~
"You'll never amount to anything! Worthless termite! You're no son of mine..."
"You? King? Ha! What a joke! Everyone knows Kovu's gonna be King..."
"Why can't you be more like Kovu!? Idiot! It's clear why he was made the Chosen One over you..."
"You and your kind get out! I will have no followers of Scar in my lands, nor any of his tainted spawn..."
"Nuka...! Nuka...! Nuka, wake up!"
Eyes flying open, Nuka woke up with a gasp. He had been dreaming of the voices of his father, sister, mother, and cousin throwing insults at him, when a voice he recognized as not belonging to any of them cut through the darkness. Now he found himself staring into the cheerful face of his newest charge, Kivuli. Glancing around, Nuka noticed they were in a grassy field, no longer near the river, although he could hear it in the distance.
"Hooray! You're awake!" the cub cheered, bouncing up and down with a grin on his face.
"Yeah, I'm awake. Hooray." Nuka agreed with far less enthusiasm. "Now what happened? And where are we?"
"Well..." Kivuli said, plopping down onto his rump. "You kinda threw us into a raging river to get away from King Simba and his pride, where we almost drowned."
"Oh yeah..." Nuka murmured. "The river in the Great Gorge. Right. Continue."
"So you kept us afloat, so we ended up following the river until we got the the Keeper's lands, where you then dragged us out of the water and we must of passed out because that's where---!"
"Whoa whoa whoa! Slow down! Who's lands?" Nuka interjected.
"The Keeper's lands." a new voice said.
Nuka immediately sprung to his feet, despite his body's protests. Instinctively he put himself between Kivuli and the new lion, letting out a low warning growl. The new lion, noticing Nuka's threatening posture, quickly backed up.
"Whoa there sonny! Calm down! I'm not going to hurt you or your young friend here." the older lion insisted, attempting to make himself look as non-threatening as possible.
"Who are you!?" Nuka demanded, eyes narrowing into slits. Despite what the lion said, Nuka didn't trust him at all. The lion before him, though obviously much, much older with gray already running through his fur, was larger than him, and more muscular. Even at his advanced age he could pose a threat to Nuka and Kivuli, if he wanted to.
"Nuka, stop being rude!" Kivuli growled, smacking Nuka's leg with his paw. "This lion saved our lives!"
"This old geezer?" the reddish brown lion questioned. Nuka wasn't quite sure if he believed it. It would take a lot of strength to carry a young adult such as himself away from the river, especially with the added weight of an older cub on top of that. This lion may be large, but he was old. Surely his joints couldn't handle such strain.
"Yes, sonny, I did indeed save you. If it weren't for me, you'd be at the mercy of the Keeper!" the elderly lion said with a smile.
"All right. Let's say I believe you here. Why would you, a male rogue, save us, also male rogues?"
"Not all rogues are selfish, brutish thugs! Some of us actually want to help other lions!" the lion snorted. He sat down, putting a paw on his chest in a dainty manner. "And, I'll have you know, I was a king before I was a rogue, so it's not as if I wasn't raised without some sort of chivalry."
"Whoa!" Kivuli gasped, stepping out from behind Nuka's legs with a look of wonder on his face. "You were a king?"
"And I was once a flying warthog." Nuka snorted, rolling his eyes.
Ignoring Nuka's comment, the old lion chuckled and placed a gentle paw on top of Kivuli's head, answering him. "Indeed I was, little one! Why, I was a king for a good many years before I became a rogue! I can still remember what it was like to live in a pride, almost as if it were yesterday..."
"But how come you aren't a king now?" the golden cub asked. The old lion sighed, a look of sorrow crossing his old features.
"The same thing that happens to many kings when they get old, little one. I was challenged by a younger, fitter male, and I lost. Thus, I lost my kingship and was exiled from my own kingdom."
"Oh..."
"Look, this is all very interesting, and I'm sure you were a great king before you got booted off your throne, but you still haven't told me who the hell you are!" Nuka interrupted with a snarl.
"Watch your language sonny! There's a child here!" the older lion snapped. Kivuli giggled at this, but Nuka quickly silenced him with a glare not unlike the ones his mother used to give to him. "My name, if you must know, is Kafeel. Happy now, sonny?"
"I'll be happy when you stop calling me "sonny"." Nuka growled.
"Well it's not as if I know you're names. It's proper etiquette to give one's own name before asking, you know."
Nuka was about to give him a nasty retort, however he was quickly cut off by Kivuli, who was oblivious to the animosity between the two older lions.
"My name's Kivuli, and this is my friend Nuka!" the cub said with excitement. Kafeel's features immediately changed from a snarl to a smile when Kivuli spoke.
"Well, it's very nice to meet you Kivuli." Looking back up to Nuka, he added, "And you, too, Nuka. Even if you're a bit on the rude side..."
Nuka grunted in reply. This lion annoyed Nuka to no end, talking about chivalry and etiquette. Who cares? Perhaps if they were in a pride, it would matter, but they were rogues! Throw that elephant crap off a cliff! No one cared if you had any sort of manners out in the wilderness. It was a dog-eat-dog world out here, and this lion cared about something as stupid as good manners. Frankly, it pissed Nuka off. It felt like this...Kafeel...was being demeaning towards him just because his manners weren't up to his standards. And yet he was perfectly fine with Kivuli, who was just as bad as he was when it came to manners. At least Nuka didn't wake others up at the wee hours of the morning.
Suddenly Kafeel jumped to his feet. His grass green eyes were wide and his ears were pricked. His claws (which happened to stick out like Nuka's, the younger lion noticed) kneaded the grown below them. Nuka frowned and pricked up his own ears. Did the old geezer hear something he didn't? Now that he thought about it, he could hear voices off into the distance, although he couldn't make out what they were saying. Was that what had the old lion worried?
"We need to leave. Now." Kafeel said, his voice lowering to just above a whisper.
"Why?" Kivuli asked rather loudly. Kafeel quickly shushed him, placing a toe on his mouth.
"Just trust me. I'll explain on the way. Now follow me if you want to live!"
Kafeel then quickly took off in the opposite direction of the voices. Nuka was about to protest, as he still didn't completely trust Kafeel, but before he could say anything Kivuli had gone off after him. Cursing the naive young cub (as well as his luck), Nuka sprinted after the pair, hoping that where ever this lion was taking them, it wasn't going to be worse than the supposed owners of the voices.
~*~*~*~*~
An hour had passed by the time Nuka finally decided to break the silence. The sun was just beginning to dip down in the sky, and Nuka could just barely see the moon sharing the sky with the sun. Sunrise and sunset were some of the few times you could see the two together, and while some lions found that fascinating, Nuka couldn't care any less. Especially now, when right now all he wanted was some answers.
"All right old man! That's it! What in the name of the Great Spirit did you just drag us into!?" Nuka snarled.
"Well, I suppose you two do deserve an explanation now that I've dragged you into my troubles." Kafeel sighed, glancing back over his shoulder at the pair of lions following behind him.
"Ya think?"
"Stop being so rude to to Kafeel, Nuka. It's not very shilv...sherv...sheevel..."
"Chivalrous." Kafeel corrected gently.
"Yeah! That!" Kivuli replied with a smile.
"Pfft. Whatever." Nuka snorted, rolling his eyes.
"Hmph! How rude! It's obvious you're not born from royalty. If you were, you would care about chivalry a bit more." Kafeel sniffed.
Nuka felt anger bubble up at this. How dare this old fart look down on him! How dare he just assume he wasn't of royal blood simply because he wasn't as pompous or neat or polite as this old geezer! How dare he! This lion has no idea who he is, where he's from, or what he's had to go through in his life, and he had the audacity to assume he was of lesser status simply because his manners weren't up to snuff. He was a prince damn it! An exiled prince, but a prince none the less.
"Shut up! Just shut up! Ugh! Chivalry chivalry chivalry! Is that all you can talk about, old man!?" Nuka snarled. "Who gives a damn about chivalry!? It doesn't matter if you were royalty before! We're rogues now! R-O-G-U-E-S rogues! We don't need to be nice, or friendly, or polite! And I doubt any other rogues we encounter will be very nice to us either!"
"Well with your attitude, of course not! Why should they be?" Kafeel snapped.
Nuka sent Kafeel a look full of venom. If looks could kill, Kafeel would have been a gonner. Kafeel returned a look that was just as equally venomous, but before either could say any more, they were interrupted by Kivuli, who was once again oblivious to the animosity between them.
"So why did we have to leave so quickly Kafeel?" the boy asked.
Ignoring Nuka's glare, Kafeel took a deep breath and began his tale.
"The reason we had to leave so fast was because those voices back there belonged to the Keeper's goons. If they'd have seen us, we'd have been killed on the spot. You see, it all started when the Keeper came upon his plot of land some years back. Unlike most young lions, who would simply take it all for themselves and start a pride, the Keeper decided to allow other predators -including lions- to live and hunt in his lands."
"He sounds pretty nice." Kivuli said.
"Not if he's sending people to kill us, moron!" the former Outlander snapped. Kivuli's flinched slightly, ears flattening at Nuka's tone. Kafeel sent Nuka a nasty glare, however instead of saying something equally as nasty Kafeel decided to continue with his tale.
"It may seem like a nice thing, but there's a catch. He doesn't allow these predators to live there for free. They have to pay rent to live on his land, and payment is usually in the form of prey, although I've heard he has made certain...exceptions...for females. Payment takes the form of either one water buffalo, two zebra, or three gazelle. And he won't take any other kind of prey as payment; just those three. People have been hurt or even died trying to get the right prey to pay their rent on time, either from hunting accidents, illness, or starvation."
"Well doesn't that sound wonderful?" Nuka grumbled. "So if living there was so bad, why didn't you just leave?"
"Well...That's the problem." the elderly lion said with a sigh. "You can't just leave. Not without paying some sort of price. Usually it's a hefty fine of three adult water buffalo to leave. Again, people have died trying to pay the Keeper. And if you get caught trying to leave without paying, he'll have his goons kill you. And if you don't pay your rent on time, he'll have his goons kill you."
"So if you don't pay to live there, you die, but if you leave without paying, you die as well? That's stupid!" the blue-eyed cub said with a frown.
"Stupid, yes, and life-threatening. But with all those predators hunting for him, he can pay others to do his dirty work for him. He has a pack of Cape dogs and a leopard by the name of Besoda to enforce his payment policies and rules. In return, they get free food, water, and shelter."
"So then why did you even decide to live there in the first place if it's so bad?"
"It happened a couple of years ago. You see, I had just been ousted. Injured and with nowhere to go, I accidently wandered here before I collapsed. The Keeper found me, and instead of killing me or chasing me away like most males, he told me that I was welcome to stay and recover from my wounds, or even longer if I wanted to. And how could I refuse? His land was rich with prey, and I needed a place to stay now that I was a rogue. It was only a week later that I was told the catch by his right hand man Besoda. And when I told him I would just leave, my life was threatened. I looked for ways to escape, but I found that the border guards in the form of Cape dogs were placed everywhere. They let people in, you see, but not out. Not without paying a fee anyways. Escape was nigh impossible."
"Whoa. That's...horrible." Kivuli murmured, eyes wide.
"Kinda reminds me when Da--Er, I mean, Scar," Nuka quickly corrected, not quite ready to let Kivuli or Kafeel know that he was the son of the Dark King Scar, "was king of the Pride Lands. No one was allowed to leave back then either. And attempting to leave the Pride Lands then, if caught, was punishable by death."
Kafeel nodded in understanding, saying, "And now you know how I fell into his trap. You see, that's how the Keeper gets his tenants. He comes to them when they're at their weakest, offers them food and sanctuary, and then once they settle in he makes it impossible for them to leave. We essentially become his slaves. It was by sheer luck alone that I managed to escape with you two. Obviously the Great Spirit must be watching over us."
"So hold up a moment. Why are we still traveling with you if you're the one they're after?" Nuka growled. "We should just dump your old hide and go on our marry way!"
"No!" Kivuli gasped. He grabbed Nuka's forepaw, causing Nuka to stumble to a hault. "We can't just leave him to die!"
"And why is that?"
"Because that would be wrong! Besides, he saved our lives! We owe him!"
Nuka sighed, placing a paw gently on top of Kivuli's head.
"Look kid, I get that you like this guy and all, but let's be real. He's old. He'll slow us down. He'll probably die soon anyways. And I can't hunt for three lions. It's hard enough just hunting for two! If we're gonna survive out here, we need to think about us first, okay kiddo?"
"I can hear you, you know. I haven't lost my hearing yet." Kafeel grumbled, saddling up to the pair. "Look sonny, just because I'm old doesn't mean I'm useless. I know a bit of herbology, I can fight when I need to, and I can hunt on my own just fine!"
"Oh really?" Nuka said, smirking. "Then how come you couldn't pay your rent, old man?"
"Because there's a drought comming and the herds are moving! Can't you sense it?" the old lion growled. "It's not like I can control the herds, you know."
"Hmm...If you're right about the drought, then we should probably move with the herds." Kivuli murmured thoughtfully. "That way we won't end up starving to death out here. Or dying of thirst, since they're probably migrating to a place where there's a lot of water and grass."
"Yes! Very good, little one." Kafeel purred. "That's exactly what we should do if we wish to survive. And get as far away from the Keeper's goons as possible."
"Whoa whoa whoa! Hold up there old man! Who said anything about you coming along?" Nuka growled.
"C'mon Nuka! You heard him! Can't he come with us? Please?" Kivuli looked up at Nuka with big, round, pleading eyes and a big grin. It was a look not unlike the one his own siblings used to give him when they wanted something from him as cubs. "Please please please please pleeeeeaaaasssssseeee?"
"Oh all right, fine! He can stay with us!" the reddish lion said, throwing his paws up in defeat. "Just stop saying "please" in that annoying voice!"
"Yes!" the cub cheered. "Did ya hear that Kafeel? You can stay with us!"
"Thank you, sonny. I know we got off on the wrong foot before, but I promise you I will help you to the best of my abilities. You won't regret this!"
"Yeah yeah, whatever. Let's just keep going."
Nuka trailed behind Kivuli and Kafeel, barely listening as the two jabbered on nonstop. Honestly he was already beginning to regret letting the old lion come along with them. Nuka was grateful for the extra set of eyes, but he feared that they may be more trouble than they were worth. He'd be able to lose the Keeper's lackeys easier if he only had to worry about Kivuli, but now he had Kafeel to worry about too. Not only that but one more lion in the group meant one more mouth to feed, and traveling through other lions' lands would be more difficult now that their group was larger.
Sigh. Maybe I should have just let myself drown in the river.
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NOTE: Alright! FINALLY done with Part 4! I was going to redo parts 1 and 2, but I thought I'd get this part done first. On a side note, the background is not mine. It's from a scene in TLK 2 where Kiara is hunting. So all credit goes to Disney on that one.

Bases: animenerd26.deviantart.com/art… , animenerd26.deviantart.com/art… , whitetigerdelight.deviantart.c…
Bases (c) , , , , and Disney
Background (c) Disney
TLK (c) Disney