The Lion King Fan Fiction ❯ The Lion King 4 Dawn of A New Era ❯ Chapter 4

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

"Aw, that was cute." Rani said.

Kion blushed a bit more. "Yeah … I … I guess it kind of was cute …"

Rani smiled and started to stand up. Kion panicked slightly and helped steady her. "Are you sure you're okay to stand?"

"Yeah,I'm feeling a lot better now." Rani said. "I think we can head home now."

Kion frowned a bit more. "Okay, if you're sure you'll be fine."

"I will be." Rani said, managing to take a step forward. "We can stop and rest if we need to."

"All right." Kion said, standing by her side. He looked over at Kiara. "Thanks again for everything."

"No problem," Kiara said, giving Kion a soft nuzzle. "You're both welcome here anytime."

"Thanks Kiara." Kion looked over at Rani who was close behind.

They exited the den and made their way down Pride Rock.

Kiara let out a small sigh when they left.

"Hey, you all right?" Kovu asked, sitting beside her.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Kiara said, forcing a smile. "It's just that … so much has happened in the last few days …. I guess I'm just a little stressed out …"

"It's okay, I'm stressed too." Kovu said before giving her cheek a small lick. "It's weird,you know, .. being king … Especially after … everything …"

Kovu shivered a bit at the memories.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

My father said to never turn your back on an Outsider!

I now see the path to our glorious return to power!

Sleep my little Kovu, let your dreams take wing. One day when you're big and strong, you will be a king.

What is your destiny!?

I will avenge Scar …. Take his place in The Pride Lands …

I humbly ask to join your pride.

No! You were banished with the other Outsiders!

He wasn't my father, but he's still part of me …

Zira had a plot, and I was part of it, but I don't wanna be! Because … it's because I love you ...

Well done Kovu, just like we've always planned.

Exile!

Deception! Disgrace! Evil as plain as the scar on his face!

He is not one of us! He has never been one of us! He is not one of us! Not our kind!

Someone once lied to us, now we're not so blind!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Kovu?" Kiara's voice broke Kovu out of his intrusive thoughts.

"Yeah?" He asked, sounding still out if it.

"Are you okay?" She asked, frowning.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

What's wrong?

Nothing ….

Kovu …

It's just that my whole life I've been trained to …. Nothing ….. I gotta go ….

Kovu … wait!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Yeah. I'm fine." Kovu said. "I'm just not used to the whole royalty thing yet. It's just kind of weird being bowed to, and being called your highness and stuff."

Especially by an antelope who called you a disgrace …

"Yeah, pretty surreal huh?" Kiara let out a nervous chuckle before relaxing into Kovu's mane. "I'm sure we'll get used to it."

"I sure hope so." Kovu sighed.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Outlands were believed to be fully abandoned by this point, having the same fate as The Elephant Graveyard. The only remaining residents were all the termites, still scurrying through their mounds.

However that just made it prime real estate for more animals to move in.

A small cackle of hyenas shuffled in, looking around anxiously.

"Is it safe,Aiube?" A male hyena whimpered.

The leader went over to a pile of bones and sniffed it. There was a vague scent of lion, but it was faded enough for her to know they hadn't been here in a long time.

"I think so, Hofu." She said, going back to him.

Three other hyenas peaked out from behind Hofu, still unsure of their surroundings.

"We'll be safe here." Aiube said, going over to them. "There's no fresh scents here. I think it's abandoned."

"The hunting grounds don't look too promising …" One of the hyenas growled out slightly.

"Maybe not, Jeuri, but it's safe and that's all that matters." She said to him, before turning to the others. "Kidogo, Utii, what do you think?"

"I think it's great!" Utii spoke up right away, as she bounded up to Aiube's side.

"Yeah it's … nice …" Kidogo said, looking around still a bit unsure about her surroundings.

"We still don't have any food." Jeuri pointed out, rolling his eyes.

"We'll find some. " Aiube said. "I could scavenge if you'd look for a proper den for us Hofu?"

"Yes, of course!" He said, already trying to scout a place.

Aiube went off, sniffing around for any scrap of food.

The main area of The Outlands didn't really offer anything besides old bones, or termites. They couldn't live off pieces of bone and bugs … at least not if they wanted to survive that was.

Letting out a growl of desperation, she started digging, hoping to find something burrowed in the ground.

Instead she found a loose root.

Aiube sighed and started chewing on it, hoping it might subside her cravings, even if just a little. She gripped it tightly in paws and bit deeply into the wood. It felt nice against her teeth, tricking her brain for the moment into thinking she'd found a meal.

Once she was done, Aiube dropped the root and headed onward. Eventually she came across a small swamp, connecting to the other side of the territory.

Aiube paused in front of the water and examined it. Slowly, she dipped her paw in. It's shallow enough that I can wade through it.

She slowly entered the water and made her way through. She had just barely made it halfway across when she heard deep snarling.

Panicked Aiube looked around to see dozens of small yellow eyes on her. A crocodile lifted his head above the water and snarled.

Quickly looking around, Aiube caught sight of a rock and splashed her way over. Her paws were wet, making it hard to get a grip on the rock. Her paws slipped and she fell under the swamp water.

Up above her, she could see the crocodiles circling around where she'd fallen. Aiube desperately tried to paddle her way from the circle, but caught the eye of another crocodile in the process.

The crocodile lunged forward, gripping the hyena's leg in his mouth. She bit down on her lip in pain as she tried to free herself. With a rough jerk she was able to get out of his grasp. Up above her was a branch.

Aiube swam to the surface, grabbing onto the branch as tightly as she could. She put her front paws on it first, before pulling her hind legs up too, wincing when her injured leg was surfaced.

Hesitant she looked down to see a red tint in the water, and a massive wound on her leg. The crocodiles circled around her, snapping their jaws.

Aiube shimmied her way up the branch, landing in a patch of grass above. She groaned as her head hit the ground and she lost consciousness.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Aiube came to a while later, shaking her head harshly. She looked around and took in her surroundings. She was laying on a patch of grass, no longer in the dead looking Outlands.

As she tried to stagger up, a sharp pain shot through her leg. She bit down tightly on her jaw as she forced herself to take a step forward. With a small limp, she managed to stagger forward slightly, before stumbling down again.

Come on Aiube ...You can do this … you need to find someone … you need help …

She pushed herself forward with her front paws, sliding against the ground. Desperately she looked around, trying to find anyone nearby.

Aiube groaned and stopped squirming, her chin hitting the ground. Her ears folded back and she looked to the sky. Please …. Help me ….

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Vitani perched on top of a rock, scanning the Pride Lands. The rest of her guard in the surrounding area.

Patrol wasn't always the most exciting job, especially since things had calmed down significantly since Kovu and Kiara united the Prides. Still Vitani kept her guard up, taking great pride in the fact she was keeping her new home safe.

"Vitani!" One of her guard's frantic yells brought her to full attention.

"Tazama." Vitani acknowledged her. "What's wrong?"

"There's a hyena near the west border." Tazma said.

"A hyena?" Vitani asked, slightly confused. They hadn't had any reports of hyenas in The Pride Lands since Kion's return. She wasn't even sure if there were any in the areas surrounding the Pride Lands anymore.

When she and Nuka visited The Elephant Graveyard it had been wiped out completely. She tried to shake the memory out of her head, not wanting to remember the reason she and Nuka were there in the first place.

"Do they look hostile?" Vittani asked.

Tazama shook her head. "They seem to be moving slowly."

Vitani groaned and hopped off her rock. "They might be hurt. Get the rest of the guard, I'll head over there now."

"Are you sure?" Tazama asked, frowning slightly.

Vitani gave her a small, reassuring, yet sly looking smile. "Hey, I'll be fine, okay?"

Tazama returned the smile, anxiously. "Okay."

To make sure she was all right, Vitani gave her a soft nuzzle. Tazama felt her legs wobble and her knees buckle and she relaxed into Vitani's warm touch.

She pulled away and headed off, and Tazama went to gather the rest of the lion guard.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Aiube closed her eyes tightly as the hot savannah sun beat down on her. Maybe there's a water hole nearby ….

Slowly, she forced her eyelids open and looked around. All she could see was grass all around her. Aiube sighed in defeat and put her head back on the ground. I'm going to die out here aren't I?

While she laid there, fearing for the future, she felt a small tap on her back. "Hey uh … are you okay?"

Aiube's eyes shot open as she examined the lioness towering over her. Her blue eyes looked filled with concern, more than anything, but Aiube couldn't help but notice her strong build, sharp claws, and dominant demeanor. It sent shivers down her spine, making her unable to answer her question.

Noticing her discomfort, Vitani knelt down to her level, and lowered her voice. "Hey, it's okay … I'm not going to hurt you." She tilted her shoulder slightly so the hyena the mark of a roaring lion. "I'm the leader of The Lion Guard."

Aiube's expression changed from worry to that of confusion. "L … Lion Guard?"

Vitani stared at her for a second, before a realization hit her. "Oh … Oh! You're not from around here, are you?"

The hyena shook her head. "My cackle and I left when another group tried to start a fight for our territory. We didn't want to risk getting hurt, so we left." She looked back behind her. "We're living over there."

Vitani's eyes widened a bit. "The .. Outlands?"

"Yeah, I … I guess. If The Outlands is the barren place filled with termite mounds, that is."

"Yep." Vitani chuckled dryly. "That's The Outlands."

"So you've been there?" She asked, curiously.

"Been there?" Vitani snorted. "I used to live there."

"You … you did?" Aiube blinked.

"Yep." Vitani said. "But, things are better now."

"Oh that's …. Good." She winced as she tried to get up again.

"I forgot, are you okay?" Vitani asked, frowning.

"Not really." She said through gritted teeth, looking back at her leg. "I was hoping to find some food. As you probably know there's not really any there."

"I've had termites for dinner more times when I can count on all four paws." Vitani laughed again.

"So I tried to cross the swamp to get across and I … I didn't know there were crocodiles." She said, keeping her gaze on her leg.

Vitani grimaced. "Yeah I've had some … run ins with them before."

"Oh, really?" Aiube asked, sounding curious.

"Yeah. There wasn't a lot of fun things to do in The Outlands." Vitani said as she started to lift her onto her back. "I can tell about it on the way back."

"The way back … where?" Aiube asked.

"You're hurt, I'm taking you back to my Pride." Vitani said. "We have a shaman who can patch up your leg."

"Th … thank you …" Aiube breathed out, clinging onto Vitani's neck.

"Hey, no problem." Vitani said. "It's the lion guard's job to protect The Circle of Life."

"The Circle of Life?" Aiube blinked.

Vitani chuckled. "I guess we have a lot to go over …"

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .