Lion King 1. Prologue: Product of a Mistake

_"Strength arises from silence. Strength arises from being heard. Know when to speak, know when to say nothing." —Balance._

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The Lion King: Teal Eyes.

Prologue: Product of a Mistake.

_Rated T: Explicit scenes._

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Rain.

Rain kissed her back as the gaunt lioness heaved in and out rapidly. She was quite young, but strong. One of the strongest lionesses in the pride, to be accurate. She cried a little as she pushed; the weather didn't help either. Mantler tried to encourage herself, but she didn't have the guts to find her voice. Again, an agonizing roar broke through the skies. She was exhausted: it had almost been an hour since she last arrived. The young lioness licked her lips and grimaced as another sharp pain hit her stomach.

Her legs were curled up with her tail tuft laying in between. Her teal eyes shot open as she continued to push. Mantler had been here for hours—but it was all worth it. The slightest crack of life had just been birthed. Blood was puddled around the lioness and her two cubs, and the mewing continued. She felt the tiniest ponder of their delicate bodies fall onto the blooded leaves that surrounded them.

_"Finally," _she was relieved in her mind, to birth the newest members of the Kakanika pride, and perhaps the newest heirs—since Mantler's father was the alpha male on this turf. Just the thought of these cubs made her think of the family she had left behind. Ever since she had found out she was pregnant, she distanced herself from her pride-mates, too afraid to expose her largest mistake she had committed in her life. Mating with a rouge instead of her betrothed. But she didn't care; she didn't love the lion she was meant to love. She was in love with another lion.

Tatai.

That was his name. At least that was the name he had mentioned. They were never meant to be, but their last meeting was taken advantage of, resulting in these two little felines Mantler had just birthed. She licked the new products of her and Tatai with a smile, tasting the blood of birth she had just exposed to the world. The rain trickled on them, making the cubs mewl louder.

_Mew...Mew..._

She sighed out of exhaustion, looking towards her small paws in shame. "What've I done?" she questioned herself, as if she knew the answer. She did, but she didn't want to believe it. Mantler gaped towards the other younger cub that tried to find its way towards her breasts. The lioness extended a claw, wincing as she did so. Did she really want to kill the cubs? She had no other choice—surely she wouldn't be accepted into the pride with these two. Hence, the cubs would be killed by her own father. At the same time, she was proud for bringing new lives to the world, and extending her generation, her father's generation. The _lion _generation.

Mantler grabbed the first cub, closing her eyes.

_Mew...mew...MEW!_

The mother's claw slowly penetrated the first offspring. The mewing stopped, the biting stopped...the suckling had stopped before the very moment. It killed her to do so...it killed her. But what choice did she have? Since being betrothed, she didn't have any choice. Since mating with a rouge, she didn't have any choice.

* * *

She was only a year old when she was announced of her future mate. A young Mantler was sat beside her mother, staring intently at her father's green eyes; confused and curious. Even so, she managed to grin slightly. It wasn't a normal grin—not a happy grin. It was simply just a grin, a grin that would beg her father to tell her the news. Rudo laughed, giving in to his daughter's grin.

His once brown mane was now streaked with dark brown and some greys, as well as a few whites. His mane was untidy and incredibly long, reaching towards the center of his stomach. Rudo's whiskers weren't as neat as they used to be; instead, they were bent and pointed, almost as if they were damaged. In contrast to this, Rudo's eyes remained a vivid emerald, that made everyone fall in love with them.

Beside Mantler was her mother, Sukari—a strong warrior with strong blue eyes. Her fur was as soft as you could imagine, layered with creamy pelt. Her legs were lightly spotted—cub spots.

"So, Mantler..." Rudo spoke at last, as if he had been waiting for her to do something. As she listened, Mantler re-adjusted her position. "I wanted to tell you that you're being betrothed to the neighboring pride's son: Kuta."

Mantler hissed slightly. She didn't like the idea of being told who she was going to marry. Sukari placed a paw on her daughter's shoulder, giving her a reassuring look that everything was going to be alright. "And, when will I marry him?"

"When you reach sexual maturity. By then, you'll be a developed lioness—able to bear cubs and carry on this pride's generation."

* * *

Mantler licked her bloody paw and gaped at the cub. "...A fine ruler, she would've made." she said to herself, watching the other cub suckle. She gulped, and grabbed the second cub. "I would have named you...Sarafina."

The name loosely translated, "Burning Ones". It was a name Mantler chose especially—a name she had always liked when she was younger. Sarafina. The product of Mantler's mistake. The young lioness was now starting to feel a trace of guilt: Had she really deceased the other cub without naming it? Something about Sarafina made her special. It was harsh, but Mantler felt something about Sarafina was worth more than the other cub's.

Mantler peered upwards towards the sky. The rain continued to fall hysterically. This made Mantler think; the great kings were tearing, tearing the death of the first cub—and soon another if Mantler had made her mind up to slaughter her younger cub, Sarafina. Suddenly, Tatai came to mind...

* * *

The Kakanika territory was now illuminated by the bright moon everyone called the moon. It didn't bring much light, but enough for Mantler to see where she was going. And where she was going was a secret, between her and someone else only. Of course, she would meet her male—as she did every night. Then she'd return to her pride at the crack of dawn. But today was different.

Today was the day they'd share their everlasting love under the moon.

He couldn't stay any longer. Of course he couldn't—he was a rouge. A passing rouge at that. Tatai had held his place on this turf for many months now, but now was the time to leave. He had to; he was a developing lion. One day, he'd sire his own cubs and have a mate.

The two were only a year and a half old, perhaps a few months until they both turned two. Mantler pressed her head into Tatai's black mane with a smile. She admired his smell, his appearance, his personality. It made her jealous and a little cranky at times too—since she knew they'd never meet again. It was this move that would classify them as lovers. This move, that would prove their love to each other, and it was this move, that would part them forever...in a way.

Mantler lay on the wet turf, her heels a few inches high off the ground. It had been raining earlier, but it had stopped once the moonlight cracked its way into position. Tatai carefully mounted his lioness. _She _was _his. _She'd always be. Other lionesses would be his physical mate—to pass on his genes, conceive cubs. But Mantler was his soul mate, his soul mate for life. For pure love and enjoyment.

"I love you, Tai." Heh, Tai. She had always called him that, it was his nickname. The heated lioness felt tears trickling down her face as she shut her eyes. She heard his warm breath behind her ear.

"I'll always love you, May." May was the nickname for Mantler. Only Tatai had used it. Suddenly, Mantler felt her lover penetrate into her, penetrate love. She wore an expression of both pure pain and pleasure. The lioness growled slightly, but at the same time, she enjoyed every bit of it. The fresh scent of mating slowly took up the air, but the couple paid no attention, they only paid attention to themselves. Tatai ran his paw over Mantler's back. He knew _exactly _where she liked to be touched the most. She winced sensually, calling his name as she did so.

"Tai..." It was a night of pure bliss. They had only met months ago and they had mated. "Take me...Take me to your world."

He smiled at her words and continued to penetrate. It was love they were making, not just sex. Tatai knew he wouldn't experience this again, perhaps mount _another lioness, _but never would he fall in love again. The male couldn't resist; he wrapped his arms around her belly—she seemed well fed. He held her down by biting her neck, inserting the last few pieces of love her had left into her. He had been in her, she had been in him. They had mated physically, they had made love. They had conceived a new heir, though they didn't know it.

* * *

Mantler smiled at that memory. Her Tai. He must've had a family by now, but for sure, he had had become a father of two...well, one now.

_Mew..._

Sarafina wriggles into her mother's arms, making her mother flinch. Did she really want to kill this cub? She hadn't even opened her eyes yet... Perhaps she didn't need to go home—perhaps she could manage on her own. It'd save her from marrying someone she didn't love, and it'd save her from having her cub killed. After so much effort, Sarafina's life had become Mantler's top priority. It was just those two for life. Mantler had made up her mind, and Sarafina was going to live. She was going to make sure of it.

Slowly Mantler stood up, abandoning the little bundle of fur she had killed almost an hour ago. Yes, it had really been that long. Mantler had been deep into thought. Of course, it was a tough decision to make. If she failed, she failed Sarafina.

Sarafina remained hanging from Mantler's muzzle as Mantler began to saunter. The rain's current was slowly decreasing—which was a relief for the both of them. Just because Mantler had given birth almost three hours ago, didn't mean she was well. She was sure this was the first time she had tripped and collapsed in the mud. Fortunately, Sarafina hadn't been touched once. Mantler's vision was blurry slightly, and this was a problem. How would she be able to manage caring for them both?

Hence, she was quite hungry. She hadn't eaten in three days; surely it was time to catch a meal. But where? In the forest, there were no herds of buffalo or wildebeest. Perhaps boars—but they were rarely found so easily. It'd take a lot of effort to catch one of those, and it didn't really fill up one's stomach. It was only minutes later that Mantler noticed she was still on the ground. Quickly, the lioness erected herself onto her paws, and continued the trail to new life...

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[A/N: This took me about an hour and a half to write. I wanted to write more, but it was only the prologue. More things will be explained in the next chapter, if you're wondering about something. But a PM wouldn't hurt, would it? :D I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I tried new things. So, I hope it was successful. :) Also, I am finally back on Fanfiction, after 4 months of trying to improve my writing, to coping with daily life. I'm really sorry to all my friends here that I haven't spoken to in a while. I hope you didn't think I forgot about you, because trust me—I didn't. I thought of you everyday... Snowflake missed you too. :P

About my writing: I had made a Lion King Fic of Sarafina before, but I wanted to start again. I feel my writing is a failure, so I decided to start again. I also want to delete all my stories, but instead, I'll just re-write them. Tell me if I should leave them on here, too. I will start _Giza: Land of Light and Darkness _again, too, though I was pretty happy I hit 30 reviews... Oh, damn... :( But still, I hope it'll be better this time around. That story was just a request, but I feel it's more than that.

**Names &amp; Meanings:**

Mantler ("Slender"/"Skillful").

Rudo ("Love").

Sukari ("Sugar"/"Popularity").

Tatai ("Cunning").

Sarafina ("Burning Ones").

Keke ("Female"). —_Sarafina's dead sister._

I take name suggestions, by the way :D Don't be afraid to recommend a name for me.]

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[ / © snowflake xx ]


	2. Inquiries

A/N: Yay! I apologize for taking ever so long to update. Life has me busy. ;w;

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The Lion King: Teal Eyes.

Chapter 1: Inquiries.

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Today was chilly, intolerably so. The sun was exceedingly hindered by the cool weather of the Serengeti. At this point, the only flake of movement seemed to be the dense globules of rain that madly plummeted upon the plains. No animal stirred, no source seemed to provide a rather jolly atmosphere. The same dejected mood hung in the air; it always did. Nothing could compare to the despondency of this turf. Life here was always like this: dull, boring and sombre.

However, out of this miserable darkness, there was a ray of hope. To the other inhabitants of this territory, at least. Maybe it would change. But for Mantler and Sarafina, it was an atmosphere they became accustomed to. Nothing would change. Everything would remain the same - it had for so many years already. They were still rogue lionesses; still no pride, no protection and as it was years before, food was still scarce.

Mantler was still a young mother. However, she had aged quite a bit... As did her daughter, Sarafina. The same guilt for killing her own cub still lingered inside of her, though. And more guilt oozed when she thought of the fact that Sarafina didn't know a thing about her deceased sibling. Life wasn't being fair on her - it was what Mantler felt. However, another side of her told her it was karma. Life was coming back to kick her in the face. For what? For betraying her pride, parents and killing her own cub? Hmm, it was almost certain.

She could end it... If so she chose. But the life of her cub, Sarafina, had started to embroil this thought a little. Sarafina would be helpless if Mantler decided to kill herself. And obviously, if she killed herself Sarafina had a great possibility of dying too. Life was harsh on cubs, there were too many dangers. Rival males, diseases and predators were a few major ones.

The lioness stopped, ceasing so her prostrated daughter could pick up the pace. The mother spun around, slightly irritated at having to rush her daughter.

"Sarafina, hurry up." Mantler hurried. She spoke with a bit of a playful tone, but most of this tone was layered in fear. Fear... of what exactly? Oh, it was nothing... Just a few males that seemed to rule the land they set haven in for the night, and a family of leopards - whose mother would kill Sarafina on sight.

Mantler looked into the lioness cub's jaded eyes. "I'm sorry, Mum... But I'm really tired. We barely slept today." Although Sarafina was used to having to up early, it still bothered her that she hardly ever got any chance of a decent slumber. "It was like, we entered the territory when it was midday, and we left at sunset."

The adult lioness loured. "I'm sorry, Sarafina, but if we stay, the pride males will find us," she replied sofly, whilst plucking Sarafina by her nape. The cub reached out, scrambling over onto her mother's back. "And... we can't trust them - you don't know what they could do to us."

Mantler had been taught from a young age to not trust any strangers; the males would most likely kill Sarafina to get Mantler back into season. Nobody liked to be used - so neither did Mantler. Her true love was Tai. She destined to find him, but it seemed impossible. Hopefully she would find him soon. She didn't know how long her and Sarafina would last out here.

Sarafina was almost a year old - she had been a rogue lioness all her life. Most cubs would think this was cool, but for Sara, it was something to be ashamed of. All she wanted to do was live a normal life, in a pride - though she had never been in one. She had been told wonderful stories of living in a pride; how she had a male that would protect her, some cubs to play with and she'd never have anything to be afraid of.

It was crazy, but Sarafina had never come into contact with any other cubs before. Her mother had always told her that she would meet some, it was quite exciting. However, one side of Sarafina told her none of the cubs would like her - that she, to them, would be a weird and crazy little freak that couldn't live a normal life. Again, Mantler made her ponder even more by saying that the cubs would find her history interesting; that they would consider her a strong cub who had struggled a tough life.

Sarafina often practised what to say to the cubs - but she was never sure of her words. Many questions had been asked.

"Mum? You know... how you said that I'd meet other cubs? How you said they'd like me?" And yet another inquiry was to be asked.

"Yes, Sara?"

"Well... how can you be sure they'll like me? I mean, they probably think I'm weak because I've always been complaining of being a rogue..."

Mantler chuckled slightly, which was a disappointment to Sarafina. If her own mother laughed at her own questions, how could she be sure the other cubs wouldn't?

"Oh, Sarafina..." The lioness slowed down, and eventually stopped to speak to the cub. "It's not always good to seem so sure and brave to everything, ya know."

"What do you mean?" How could her mother think like that? No-one liked a weak cub. No lion liked a weak lioness. Didn't her mother say that lion prides needed good and strong lions? Mantler's words seemed to confuse Sarafina at this point, flushing more questions from her mouth. "I thought you said lion prides needed good and strong lions to form a good pride to protect cubs from rival ma-"

"Yes, Sarafina, I did say that..." She took a brief pause, swallowing hard. Her daughter was partly right, and that was what had occurred to her in her old pride. It was what drove Mantler to find Tai... and was one of the reasons she left anyway. "But what I mean is that, sometimes, if you lie about how you truly feel and try to look brave, you can come out as... arrogant."

"Oh... I don't wanna look arrogant towards my new friends."

Sarafina was a smart cub - she knew many things. And this was because she listened to her mother. Many cubs wouldn't; they'd argue and deny until they got their own way. However, Sara was different. You could say she was rather... obedient towards her mother. She trusted Mantler a lot.

Mantler smiled warmly as she began to amble once more. "Oh, Sara, I'm so glad to hear that."

* * *

Dusk seemed to have crept up on Mantler and her cub, but for the rest of the Serengeti too. The sun was practically water-height at this point. Life was hard to predict at this rate for just about anyone. It was also evident that in another part of the Serengeti, there was a thriving pride with voracious cubs that awaited a meal from the pride lionesses - which would return any minute soon.

Unlike Sarafina, these cubs had large supplies of food and water; and often left scraps of meat. To Sarafina, this was impossible. She licked her meat right down to the bone - she was more ravenous than these cubs.

These cubs also had a ever-growing family, and a male - who'd protect them. They would be praised by everyone each time they hunted something, or they had more than one lion to share love with. It was Sarafina's dream. Of course, Sarafina had Mantler, but it wasn't the same. This prides' cubs had a whole lots of faces to be praised by. And they wouldn't be so vulnerable if one of their members had passed away.

Whereas if Mantler passed away, Sarafina would practically be on the verge of death.

The six cubs of the pride hopelessly flumped on the small boulders beside the large formation known as Pride Rock - awaiting the huntresses of the pride. So impatient, so hungry. Yet, their hunger could not compare to the hunger of Sarafina's and Mantler's.

"Gosh, they really take their time..." A rather slim cub scowled, slightly more impatient than the other cubs. It was almost ten minutes that she had been pacing, surely she was becoming tired. She finally slumped, sitting on her haunches as she scraped her claws on the rocky surface of the den. "I want food right now!"

"Wow, Zira, you don't have to be so... so impatient." The other, more mature, lioness cub replied instantly. "It takes time and effort to hunt, you know."

"Sarabi's right." And yet another cub stepped into the conversation. "We're hungry, I'm sure we all are. But it's not like complaining will do anything... We can't even compare to rogue lions and lionesses."

"And that's why you'll make a good king, Mufasa," the cub referred to as Sarabi flattered in her adorable, soft tone.

Mufasa flushed a deep red, once again turning Zira's anger mode on.

"Puh!" she spat, throwing her head back in laughter. "I bet Taka would make a better king than you! All you care about is rogue lions and lionesses, and love and all that rubbish! It's about your power, use it! It's what Taka does, which is why he's... so much better than you."

The female lioness cub ambled over towards the slumbering prince and stared at him dreamily, her jaw dropped open in amazement. She was totally in love with him - to the other cubs at least. She stared passionately at his eyes, his smile and his chestnut-coated, scrawny body.

"Pff, I bet Mufasa'd make a better king than Taka. He's nobody!" A cub, who had an appearance similar to Sarabi, mocked.

"Yeah, all he does is sleep all day, he doesn't even care!" Another cub continued. "He'd sure be a lazy king."

"Shut up, Naanda, Dwala! Every king needs their beauty sleep, now." Zira spun around the face the other laughing cubs. "That's why I prefer Diku - she's too kind to even think of the bad side of everybody."

Sarabi rolled her eyes. The way Zira involved her youngest sister was just unbearable. Diku was quite anti-social, and it seemed Zira had her way of manipulating her. But if Zira messed with Diku, she's have to mess with Sarabi, Naanda and Dwala. Rage took over from there, and it took almost ten seconds for Sarabi to realize she pinned Zira. Zira gasped. How could she let such a cub pin her? Well, Sarabi was quite heavily-built... It was why.

The other cubs seemed to laugh hysterically at Zira's expression after she realized she had been pinned.

"Get off me, you brat!" The pinned lioness cub swatted at the older cub who had pinned her.

"Brat? Haha, you know, Zira... That makes me laugh, because when you say brat, it makes me remember we're all older than you!" Mufasa bellowed, getting into her face with a smirk.

"You're the brat, Zira." Naanda added, supporting Mufasa's statement.

Zira looked for some source of help. Her crimson orbs darted to her left. Perfect.

At that instant moment, Zira began to choke with exaggeration. The cubs' eyes dilated on confusion, questions seemed to linger in their minds. She was fine just a minute ago... How come she was acting up now? Sarabi gasped fearfully - she didn't mean to hurt the cub.

An adult lioness intruded into the dimension of cub bickering, grabbing Sarabi by the scruff of her neck and throbbing her onto the rocky surface of the large rock formation known as Pride Rock. The lioness then proceeded to glaring at Sarabi, her amber eyes flashing with anger and irritation. It was Sarabi's mother, Ishi.

She then spun around to see several adult lionesses, one of which was Zira's mother, panicking over the somewhat injured cub. Sarabi's ears flopped, her smirk seemed to have evaporated.

"What a drama queen!" It was Mufasa, sharing his opinions with Naanda and Diku. They seemed to have agreed.

* * *

Sarafina seemed to somehow clinch her strength to traipse beside Mantler again; which was a relief to her. Carrying a cub who was almost a year old was quite difficult; Sarafina wasn't exactly a light, little newborn anymore. The mother and daughter trekked through the swamp. It was simply unendurable!

Their once clean coats had now been veneered in mire. Sarafina felt she wanted to scramble up her mother's back again, but it wouldn't be fair to Mantler. Her mother's back was impairing simply because of her weight. And Sarafina was already dirty, what was the point in going back now?

The cub felt she needed to latch her eyes and seal her muzzle; that way no more silt would be able to enter them.

It was another good few minutes before they neared the surface, finally getting out of the swamp. However, it was also when Mantler began to feel quite uncomfortable. Her muscles tensed and every maternal instinct in her body told her Sarafina was in danger, and it held her from allowing Sarafina to walk on. The cub would have to remain behind her legs.

"What's wrong, Mum?" Sarafina questioned, finally taking cognizance of her mother's actions. Mantler ignored the cub for a few minutes, much to her dislike.

The lioness's ear flickered. Experience told her there was a dangerous presence lurking around in the area they were in. A poisoning trepidation began to rise in Mantler's stomach. They were in danger.

_Caw! Caw!_

This sound always played; it was the crows, when they were trying to alert other animals of predators. Now Mantler was absolutely certain someone was here.

_Grrrrrrr..._

A large male lion capered out of the bush, immediately catching Mantler's attention. The male crouched in what Mantler recognized as a fighting stance. Her muscles tensed. She was stressed. If she decided to fight this lion, she had a chance of dying, and risking Sarafina's life. Or, she could grab her cub and risk being chased by a large male who would probably be a terrible killer and crush their skulls if he caught up to them. Or, she give Sarafina in as a fine for crossing boundaries - but never, in a million years would Mantler do that.

It was either fight. Or run.

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_Thanks for reading ! Review please ! :D_


	3. Crawling through jeopardy

A/N: I never thought I'd be updating so soon... o.o

Anyhow, I hope you enjoy! : D

* * *

The Lion King: Teal Eyes.

Chapter 2: Crawling through jeopardy.

* * *

Hot salty tears managed to trek down and stain the cheeks of the young lioness cub as she sat on her haunches in the corner of shame. Since the incident, she didn't want to see any of her friends; especially the one that made this all possible. Sarabi triumphed; every lioness that seemed to pass ignored her desolate, disturbed posture. Still though, Sarabi didn't regret what she had done to Zira - the cub needed to be pinned and laughed at so a lesson could be learned. But she didn't expect the result to be her condemned to the excruciatingly hot den with lionesses ambling in and out.

Sarabi curled into a ball. It wasn't necessarily because of Zira; but because instead of Zira being shamed, she was shamed and scolded in front of her friends, by her mother in front of the king and queen. She felt it was a disgrace and such a disgusting attitude to perform in front of the royals. However, Sarabi kept telling herself that Zira deserved it. And she did.

The lioness cub dragged her freshly sharpened claws onto the haggard walls of the kopje, provoking a really disturbing sound from the action. Usually it made her wince, but now she didn't care. The thought of nobody caring about her leaked into her mind - nobody had even bothered to see her. She was left to her own drops of tears. She was so confused at this moment - she didn't know whether she wanted something there or not.

Though, one side of Sarabi was relieved nobody was here. She was bound to embarrass herself again if something like that, or worse than that, had occurred again.

The cub's ears suddenly flickered: another presence.

It was obviously one of the lionesses.

"Sarabi?"

Finally, someone called her name. Someone had felt the pang of guilt and empathy to come and sit by her. It was the voice of a female lion, and as the visitor settled beside the lone cub, the youngster peered into the staring, amber eyes in shock. Well... Not so much shock. Ishi was always the first lioness to say something to Sarabi.

"You're not here to scold me again," Sarabi's voice trembled slightly. "...right?"

"I wouldn't say it's scolding..." Ishi replied softly, with less assertiveness in her voice. "I wanted to ask, why did you hurt Zira?"

Sarabi pursed her lips. "I'd like to ask why everyone is so blind these days. Didn't you see that smirk on her face afterwards? It was to get me in trouble!"

"Sarabi..."

"Nobody even cared to what I had to say. You don't know what she did to me, because I'm not the type of cub to just pin somelion so randomly." The angered cub retorted. "She was the one talking about Diku, how she'd often use her for things. And she insulted Mufasa - of course I had to pin her! And she was faking it the whole time, she-"

"Enough, Sarabi!" Ishi seethed firmly, sealing Sarabi's large trap. "I understand you were mad at her, but it's not a wise move for the future queen to pin a lioness that got on her nerves. You'd be teaching your pridemates to be violent."

Sarabi's mother was right. The cub looked down in shame. It was quite foolish to force violence upon a pridemember. Ishi could see the regret floating in Sarabi's eyes which was a good sign. The adult lioness sighed.

"I know how mischievous Zira can be, and how blind some of us can be," Ishi motioned towards the large bundle crowding around the 'injured' cub. "But there are always a few that aren't blind, that notice. Remember that."

"I... I guess so, huh?" The cub smiled meekly. "But... I wish lionesses like Zira could be more like us."

Ishi looked away, her head low. "Me too..." She proceeded to looking back at her baffled cub. "I've got a story to tell you, Sarabi."

Sarabi lit up in excitement. "Really? Should I call Naanda, Dwala and Diku?"

"I can tell them afterwards, but I think you need to know." Ishi chuckled. "...Since you're the oldest."

* * *

The young mother and her cub remained speechless. Mantler was practically on the verge of dying, possibly, stirring a fatal option for Sarafina. But she wasn't born a lioness for nothing. It was because she'd protect her cub at all costs. A venomous hiss pouted from the mother's mouth, meanwhile all eight of her freshly sharpened claws extended.

She braced herself from any sort of attack, forcing the density of her muscular body to unmask itself. With Sarafina practically attached to her hind legs, she writhed into the brushing savannah grass, desperately creeping away to avoid a fight. The male seemed slightly younger than her, but he was still larger.

He wore an expression of wry - he knew she wouldn't dare force herself to fight him. But he also knew, by her postures, that she was one of the stronger lionesses; ones that'd be excellent for breeding to produce strong cubs. It was all the encouragement he needed. His oriented thinking had brought Mantler more time. Time for what? To think of a plan. Right.

Though the mother still kept her orbs on him, she could see from the corner of her eye that there was a perfect escape route. And that escape route was heaven. A bunch of clustering wildebeest stirred, scattering and scampering about - enjoying themselves and grazing as much grass as they could. It was a dangerous, almost fatal idea, but Mantler knew that if she could charge through the center of the herd, they'd panic and scatter even more, causing the male to lose track of her and her cub.

Mantler also exchanged the dreadful, wry expression. Based on her experience, this lion was young enough to not be so familiar with intruders - or in this case, common plans that'd often help intruders.

A low snarl signalled that he was desperate for the death of this cub, for this lioness to join this pride. But it also signalled he could kill her at any moment... or could he? He may have been strong, stronger than Mantler. But strength didn't work without logic. The lion's large shoulder blades continuously bounced up and down. Up and down. For some time, it was distracting. Mantler's creeping and tensed body seemed to put him on edge. Yes, he was stronger, but she had experience.

"What're you doing?" he inquired for the first time in a rather rude tone. "Come, fight me!" Hopefully these words would mask his anxiety.

Mantler slowed, stopping and offering a look that asked him if he was insane. Yet she didn't answer. She simply scooped her petrified cub by the nape, and continued to saunter; still bracing and tensing for an attack. Her opposition chuckled.

"You're really stupid, y'know. It's best you to just come fight me and establish who's the dominant one."

Mantler stopped again. She rose one thick eyebrow. "Listen," she finally said in a tone that seemed to be irritated, after she threw her cub further away from the two. "I'm a mother - way more experienced than you. You may be stronger, but my upper paw is experience." Her voice was hoarse and dry from the relentless move.

"But something still needs to be established." And once again, the male was crouched. "Besides, I don't think you'd win with experience anyway."

Several lionesses emerged behind the crouched male. They seemed juvenile, however, still young and perhaps in training to protect their pride. Mantler estimated they were no older than two years. It put Mantler on edge slightly that she was outnumbered; they would only be worse...for perhaps both sides.

Sure, she'd have more lions chasing her, but more lions would also stirr the herd, inflicting terror upon them and drive them to cowardly spin about like imbeciles. It gave her more chance of escape.

...And yet, an opportunity had miraculously leaked into the scene once more. The male, and the only male of the pride it seemed, craned his head around to inform his lionesses of the fight. What a stupid move.

Mantler knew exactly how to react - it was now or never. Her legs that had been bent for quite a while now was enough to stimulate her normal jumping height. Without warning, the older lioness lashed into the air, her hind legs working like propellers, her forelegs folded in to make herself more aerodynamic than she was at that point.

The pride male and his lionesses watched in amazement as Mantler safely landed on her legs, scooping her cub once more. The adult lioness mindlessly charged into the herd, her head low and Sarafina's tail dragging along the grass. As expected, the young lions of the pride were behind her and the herd began panicking too.

Several snorts and brings were released into the air by the petrified wildebeest, as they foolishly charged and pierced the ground with their hooves like idiots.

"Umph!"

Mantler was sprawled out on the ground with Sarafina scampering away, onto the other side. The mother's eyes widened in fear as she saw the large hoof of a wildebeest clampering towards her hind leg...

"NO! MUM!"

CRACK.

Mantler's painful roar ripped through the land, as she rolled onto her stomach in agony. Her hind leg was brutally clampered on by one of the startled wildebeest, and she too would be trampled if she didn't get out of the way. The lioness rapidly slithered over to where her daughter was standing, her eyes clouding with tears and causing very difficult vision for her at that moment.

"We've gotta move away from the wildebeest, Sarafina." Mantler put all her weight on a rock to erect onto her paws. Somehow she managed to, but her leg starred a very awful pain whenever she had pressed on it. Limping was the only way for her to travel, now.

It didn't take her long to notice, but Mantler noted that they had come across a different landscape. It wasn't the same, dull, sombre and decaying territory. This place was thriving with nature, water and food, freshly grown greens. The land was surrounded only by humidity and the scorching sun that harshly burned the animals of the land. It was better than home, though, Sarafina had to admit.

This was the territory that'd probably keep them alive for the rest of their lives - an excess supply of food, water and content nature was something every lion could dream of. Sarafina was certain her jaw had been dropped for at least a while. Keeping thought of her daughter's open jaw, Mantler slowy hovered her paw over the lioness cub's profile, proceeding to shut her mouth.

"This place is dreamland! I'd love to stay here, Mum!"

Mantler smiled. "Me too, but such a beautiful place must have inhabitants to have kept it so thriving and healthy."

Sarafina felt a pang of disappointment, dragging her the narrow way to happiness. "Aargh, but... I don't see any lions! Please Mum, I don't care if we have to stay hidden - I'm just tired of having to wake up so early and scavenge from hyenas or other animals..."

"Me too..." Mantler looked around for a few seconds. "I guess...staying a while wouldn't hurt."

The two females embraced themselves - they were finally free of their long-term fleeing. Both of them settled. It seemed that the pride lions had given up on their attempt, they stared at Mantler and Sarafina from the other side of the river bend, before completely executing their plan and ambling back to their home.

Mantler looked down to her paws in sadness. Much to her dislike; her daughter seemed to notice.

"What's wrong?" The adult lioness rapidly smudged her freshly-drawn tears, avoiding any sort of eye contact with her cub. "Mum?"

"NOTHING!" Mantler bellowed in total frustration. She wasn't capable of controlling how her feelings had taken over her actions and the way she spoke to others. Sarafina coiled backwards, turning into a ball and quivering in fear of her own mother's tone. The mother realized her daughter was only concerned, and tried to reduce the tone slightly. "I'm sorry, Sara. It's just..."

The lionesses pinned their ears.

"Y'know how... how I fell over?"

Sarafina nodded leisurely.

"I got... My leg got stepped on by one of the wildebeest and... I could be crippled now! For life!" The cub sauntered over towards her sobbing mother, wrapping both of her forelegs around her and nuzzling her to ease her sadness.

"HEY YOU."

Both lions spun around to the source of the husky voice that had so evidently bellowed to get their attention. Danger was always just round the corner...


	4. Presumptions

A/N: Gosh I'm on fire with writing... that's good, right? XD I can't believe I haven't said so already, but thank you all for the reviews ! I do read them, and if you have an account, I'm likely to PM you to reply to your questions. ^-^

/Edit: This actually took ages to write, due to fanfiction's bug... I couldn't access my documents - sorry for the late!

* * *

The Lion King: Teal Eyes.

Chapter 3: Presumptions.

* * *

"Hey, you!"

The same, haggard and deep voice boomed through Mantler's ear drums as she spun around. Instincts told her that she should transition into an aggressive posture; it signalled that she wasn't joking, she was serious. The lioness was crippled, but she'd press herself on, even when crippled, to dedicate her life to her cub. She didn't care if she had to die, but she wanted her daughter to be safe. She could die, martyr blood puddling around them and everything would be okay- if Sarafina was safe of course. This being said, if Mantler had to die for her cub's well-being, it was worth it.

She tackled her ears back, immediately brushing Sarafina behind her hind legs with her tail to keep her from running off. Mantler's muzzle crinkled into a serious snarl as she watched the large, but rather slim, male lion extend his front claws. Several lionesses, this time much older and more experienced, appeared behind him, with growls similar to Mantler's.

"What are you doing here?" he questioned, edging closer towards the younger lioness. "In _my_ lands?"

The question was rhetorical, but Mantler thought otherwise. He didn't expect her to have an answer rather than just hunting in his lands, but he didn't like this excuse, so in his case the question was rhetorical. But who could blame Mantler for not knowing his rhetorical inquiry? From her dreadful experience, she almost always had to think of an answer. She wouldn't lie and say she was passing by like she did all those other times, because lying would get her nowhere - she was sick of it.

Lying would only drag her the narrow way in life; though she had the hard way in life already. Things could not get worse from now, her cub had been at risk so many times, but this, out of all their troubles was the worst. There was no easy way to escape now, they were cornered by several pride lionesses and one large male lion. They all seemed way more experienced than her.

"We were hoping to stay but, obviously that's impossible." Mantler defended with a hiss, intending to expose a lot of anger in her young voice. "Nevermind, we were just leaving. No need to worry."

Mantler struggled to spin around and saunter away from the lions, as she was evitably (to the lionesses) crippled, and Sarafina held her ground, keeping her perseverance at a very high level so Mantler would give up on her attempt to leave to speak to the pride male. By now, she was practically a year old - there was a fair chance of being accepted into the pride.

"But... Mum, I wanna stay." Sarafina finally spoke up, not caring about the surrounding lions.

"Sarafina, young lady, I'm sorry but we can't." Mantler said, a slight irritation leaking into her voice. "Please don't test me, we can't and that's it!"

"Why not?!"

Sarafina's voice seemed to be laced with fury, hot and heavy. Exhausted even.

"Because we're not welcome here, don't you see?! We're practically being thrown out of this territory and unless you wanna be lion meat, you better walk!"

"No!" Sarafina threw back at the adult lioness. "We've been living as rogues for years, running away from nothing for nearly all our lives! Now we finally have a chance to end that and all you do is avoid it. I'm a year old now, so that adds to the chances, and we've got a fair reason to be accepted into the pride due to our past!"

Mantler, the lionesses and the male remained quiet. This cub was smart, and she spoke up whenever she felt something was wrong.

"I always listen to you, but you never listen to me," Sara continued, lowering her head slightly. "I may be young, but I'm not stupid... I understand a lot of things. There's a possibility we could be chased out, but there's also a possibility we could change our lives forever and live in peace, don't you want that? Don't you want to finally live in a pride?"

Mantler was speechless. The lionesses were speechless. The leader of the pride was speechless. Nobody knew what to say. It was true that every lion cub needed to obey their parents. However, in cases (such as this), was an exception. Even though the pride lions would seek to chase out this rogue and her cub, Sarafina was fully correct. She was a cub, yet she knew exactly how to react in some situations. Her words were amazing, and honest. She would sit around and allow her mother to demand all day. When she saw a chance for a better life, she'd take it, it proved her desperation.

"Your daughter's right," Mantler spun her head to view one of the pride lionesses. She was gaunt, yet slightly wider than Mantler. She was quite dark-furred, from her head right down to her uncolored paws. Her unbelly only being a slight shade lighter. Her eyes were a fiery amber, yet they confessed a warm kindness for almost anyone. She spoke with determination, at the same time avoiding any chance of a harsh tone. A fight, it seemed, was the last thing she wanted. "You should listen to her."

"Sometimes we think that cubs won't ever understand, but at times they understand more than us," she continued. "From her little speech, she's simply tired of becoming a rogue. All you had to do was explain your situation, and you'd be accepted into judgement, here at the Pridelands."

"Well, I wouldn't have known with such a hostile approach," Mantler defended, narrowing her eyes and clearly hurt that everyone seemed to be against her.

"So... can we stay?" Sarafina inquired to the pridelander. The pridelander motioned to the large bulky male. The cub immediately understood the message, cautiously ambling towards the large male that seemed to lead the pride of lionesses. He stared down at her with his glacial, green orbs. Just his glance seemed to scar Sara. If not, only a little. "May we be accepted into judgement, kind sir?"

The lion stared into Sarafina's teal eyes: she was begging for help. Pleading to be looked after. Throwing herself to the ground in hope of being fed. To deny her would be cruel; especially after her little speech. Maybe allowing her to stay would prove her mother wrong, and would tell her to have faith in her cub. She was a year old, as she had said, which meant in due time, Mantler would be able to sire more cubs. What was there to lose?

Before he could even say a word, the same dark-furred lioness came and stood beside him, nudging him with her elbow. "You, from today, will be accepted into judgement. I hope I don't regret my decision."

Sarafina could have sworn she collapsed to the ground. She was so glad, so content, so relieved that she could finally live a normal life; no longer in exile and no long forced to move at the crack of dawn. Well-fed and looked after. Perhaps there's be more cubs that she could play with. And not to mention, she had proved her mother wrong! Speaking of her mother, her mother stood, unsure how to react. She was frozen, staring at the king, tear-stained. This was all it took for Mantler to have complete faith in her daughter. She was finally free! They were finally free.

Without warning, Mantler leaped forward, embracing the dark-furred lioness and sobbing hysterically. "T-Thank you so much! W-We really need this..." The lioness then pirouetted to view her daughter. And without saying a word, she squeezed her as tightly as she could in her loving mother-daughterly hug. She really needed this, they both did.

The pride lionesses purred at the sight; relieved to have a new pride member and also glad that a cub (who had so rightfully fought for her desires) was able to spend a joyful cubhood at the Pridelanders.

Inches away from the scene were three cubs - who had observed the entire scene. Mufasa, Naanda and Dwala sat, amazed at Sarafina's words and stubbornness. No cub would dare to quarrel with their mother before the king and queen. For them, their mothers knew all; and were to be obeyed. Jaw-dropped still, Naanda spoke.

"That... was amazing. That cub really does have a maw, huh?"

"I know," Dwala spoke up, "Nobody here would do that. That was really brave of her."

"Where is Sarabi when something like this happens?!" Naanda yelled in both excitement and frustration. "Mufasa? Have you seen Sarabi?"

Mufasa was locked in a dimension of his own. He stared at the female cub intensely, admired greatly by her speech. And she was also kind of cute. Things would be different now that there was a new cub; maybe she could teach Zira a lesson or two. She was in great shape - beautiful, strong and lean. Maybe almost as perfect as... Sarabi...? Could it be? And her name? What was it? He had to know; surely she had a beautiful name that's match the description of her body. Oh kings, how he was so glad she was in his pride now. If only-

_"Helloooo...?"_

A paw waved across his face.

"Mufasa!"

"Muffy?"

"MUFASAA!"

Had he been daydreaming too long? Still uncertain to what was going on, the golden prince shook his head in confusion. "What?!" he yelled in frustration, having heard so many loud voices. It was certainly annoying when you were locked in good thoughts and someone had interrupted you; that was the last thing any lion would want.

"We've gotta find Sarabi!" Naanda snapped, shoving her face into his.

"And Diku!" Dwala piped, taking off after her older sister.

* * *

Sarabi froze. In all her life, this moment was the most surprising, most shocking, and most confusing moment she'd ever experienced. She placed her paw on the ground, observing as Ishi faced away from her daughter in shame. Most of all, Sarabi was upset. Why wasn't she told this before? Why didn't neither of her parents tell her this? Hesitantly, the cub spoke.

"Why didn't you tell me this before?"

After a few minutes, Ishi finally had the courage to reply. "I was... afraid of your reaction."

"Sarabi!"

The voice was undoubtedly from a cub. Three cubs came dashing into the den, several content grins plastered on their muzzles. As soon as Ishi's attention was caught by the intruders, she did simply nothing but stand up and stroll out of the den as if nothing had occurred. The cubs studied the lioness's expression thoroughly, before she trotted away to get out of sight. At last, Dwala finally got her turn to speak, stepping forward from her tight space in between her two friends, Mufasa and Naanda, before throwing her face in Sarabi's.

"Sarabi! There's this new cub! She's so awesome, her and her mother just joined the pride!" Dwala yelped excitedly, obviously blind to Sarabi's sombre expression.

Slightly, Sarabi's ears perked in interest. She stood, so she could view her friends properly. "What?" she gasped, her eyes widening at what she was hearing. "We have a new playmate? And she's awesome? How so?"

"She stood up to her mum, and she basically won her rights to the pride... in front of the king!" Naanda chimed in, her smile unable to become any wider. Sarabi furrowed one eyebrow.

Arguing with an older lioness in front of the king? Now that was something rare... Despite that, Sarabi was glad to hear she'd have a new friend to make in the pride. She'd have a best friend, apart from her sisters, to share her secrets to, and to be able to empathize with her. Slowly, Sarabi stepped forward. "Can... can we meet her? Now?"

"Yes, but I think they're on their way here," Dwala said, "She'll be an excellent member of the pride, and she'll hang around with us!"

"Pff," spat a rather pessimistic lioness from the other side of the Pride Rock den. "Cubs like that are stuck up; she won't be your friend. She'll want to hang out with someone who has a little more... charm. Like me, or Taka. Not you."

"I don't believe anyone said a word to you, Zira," Naanda snapped, narrowing her eyes slightly. "I believe you or Taka would be the last cubs she'd hang out with. All you care about is power, you know nothing about friendship. Sarabi did well to pin you."

Zira was simply speechless. She wouldn't be sassed forever. Rising to her feet, the cub's wry smile simply transitioned into a violent growl. The fur on the back of her neck were standing, accurately straight and razor. Her eyes fired with infuriation. Crouching low to the ground, Zira shifted her shoulder blades up and down, before she was able to propel with such ease, onto Naanda. Naanda, however, had caught the cub off guard and as soon as Zira landed flat on her belly, she couldn't resist giggling.

"I can't wait to tell your mum about what you've tried to do, Zira," the lioness cub cackled. "Sarabi should pin you again; maybe then you'll learn your lesson."

"No, Naanda. I can't do that," Sarabi interjected, gaining all of the cubs' attention. "I'm the future queen here. I can't pin a pride lioness because I feel mad at her; I'd be teaching my pridemates to be violent." They all eyed Zira as she scrambled out of the den. "Besides, there's something you should know..."

"Which is...?" Dwala edged, becoming extremely impatient.

"Well, we're-"

"Anybody here?" An adult voice echoed through the cave. The voice was doubtlessly the queen's. Uru strutted into the den first, towards the cubs. She nuzzled each of the cubs tenderly, a purr errupting from each of them. Behind her legs was Diku, the youngest of the quadruplets, who prowled into the den contently. As always she would fall flat on her stomach, due to her poor sight; in which she had been blinded by a spitting cobra when she was younger.

And after Diku had settled beside Dwala, another lighter-furred cub, coyly ambled into the den. Her face was clearly flushing a clear red; she was really embarrassed. The pride cubs stared at her in awe - it wasn't a nice feeling to be embarrassed. Sarabi had learned that well not too long ago. To be embarrassed meant you felt uncomfortable: it could happen when someone was watching you intently, or when you were just naturally shy of meeting new lions. In this case, though, Sarabi would make sure she felt right at home.

After several pride lionesses had entered the expanded den, a gaunt, lean and light-furred lioness ambled into the den slowly, contemplating her surroundings in amazement. The den was large, too large. Despite having so many lions in the pride, everyone managed to fit and some space still remained. The king walked beside the queen, smiling at her as they neared the pride cubs. Without saying a word, they all bowed, except for Zira, who was at the other side of the den rolling her eyes. This wasn't necessary at all!

Seeing how polite the cubs were, Sarafina's shyness drained a little, and her bravery rose slightly. However, she still managed to decline behind her mother's hind legs.

"Here, cubs, are our new pride members. This is Mantler," The golden king addressed the new, lean lioness that stood over the new cub. "She'll be helping with the hunting here, and the patrolling. And you also have a new playmate: this is Sarafina." He nudged Sarafina, barging her out from behind her mother's legs.

"Uh... H-Hi...?" Sarafina said in panic, her heart racing as different predictions of the cubs' reactions leaked into her mind. She didn't know how they'd react. Would they like her? Would she tell them she had been a rogue? Were they as friendly as they looked? _Say something, come on..._

"Hey," the ear-rimmed cub greeted politely, stepping forward and beaming sweetly at Sarafina. "Welcome to the Pridelands; I'm Sarabi."

Mantler smiled at the sight. She was glad to have her daughter. Without Sarafina, she'd perhaps still be a rogue, crippled in the glacial savanna alone; forced to hunt on her own and without any sort of company. However, thanks to Sarafina, they finally managed to accomplish what they had been looking for the whole time: a pride, food and love.

"I'm Naanda, Sarabi's sister. And my sisters, Dwala and Diku."

"Nice to meet you," Dwala welcomed allowing Diku to lean on her. Sarafina frowned as she eyed Diku, her smile seemed to evaporate. This cub was blinded for life, probably, she couldn't see anything. She was so lucky to have a pride, otherwise in the wild, she wouldn't have survived a second. There had been times where Sarafina was close to death, and she wasn't blind at all - for this cub, it'd be ten times worse...

She spun to her left, viewing the last male cub to greet her and introduce himself. But like she was at the beginning, he was flushing a deep red. To her dismay, the last lion cub seemed to stare distractingly at Mantler as she walked off with the other lionesses, thinking of an excuse to not have to greet the new lioness cub he found so amazing. However, luck was not on his side. Impatiently, Naanda nudged him - she almost always had control over him.

"Greet her, then!" the lioness cub whispered fiercly into the prince's ear.

"H-Hey... I-I'm..." Just as he was about to answer a blur swiftly swiped across in front of him. It was Zira, and she had a large, mocking grin firmly planted across her muzzle. Without warning, she kicked Mufasa away from behind her with her back legs. Mufasa landed flat on his back, his friends rushing over towards him to help him up.

Trying to sound as kind and innocent as possible, Zira introduced herself, "Hiii. I'm Zira. Want to look around?"

"That sounds nice," Sara said, shifting backwards slightly due to how close Zira was. "But, I-I was just-"

"Excellent!" the lioness cub interjected on purpose, pulling the new pride member closer, barging her out of the den.

After Sarabi, Naanda, Dwala and Diku had risen Mufasa to his feet, they all stared at the new cub, who seemed to be ambling away with Zira. They ran down the slope, and down the rocks, towards the lionesses' sleeping place. Obviously, Zira was going to introduce her new friend to her mother, Maisha, and try to seem as polite as she could possibly be. And there it was, a new friend which had been stolen by the last cub they wanted her to meet.

The cubs could see them from where they were, they seemed to be getting along well, and, probably, they'd soon become the greatest of friends... And maybe, Sara would even act like her...

"What did you want to tell us anyway, Sarabi?" Naanda questioned, now that there was nothing else to do.

Sarabi pinned her ears. "W-Well... Mum just told us that..." She had to bring herself to say it. "Zira is our half sister..."


	5. Revelance

A/N: For the comments : Thank you so much, all of you ! I had no inspiration at first to continue, and then I was like "Why not try and see?" XD I hope you enjoy !

* * *

The Lion King: Teal Eyes.

Chapter 4: Revelance.

* * *

"What?"

"Are you sure?"

Several queries swarmed the younger lioness as she sat in front of the others, labelled a new lioness with a lot of explaining to do. Mantler shifted her forelegs; uncomfortable much? Of course. Sitting in front of more than fifteen lionesses was surely pressuring - especially since Mantler wasn't one of those social lionesses. And sharing her past and how she had got to the Pridelands was something she didn't prefer. But what could she do? The pride had served their term as a helpful one, allowing her to live with them. The least she could do was share how she got here.

Her story came up to the worst part; where she had just found out she'd been pregnant and her mate had left her. The prideland lionesses were so shocked Mantler's lover would do such a thing; something like this wasn't permitted in the Pridelands. Once you had mated with a male, they had to become mates, or they at least had to care for the cub or find it a home. But to impregnate a young female, not even offer her shelter in those conditions, and then to let her leave without such as any encouragement was simply impudent. Cruel. Canial. Any word that justified his actions. Maybe he still loved her, but it wasn't right to leave your mate like that.

"Yeah, I haven't seen him since," Mantler informed the lionesses. "Sarafina doesn't know her father... and neither do I - it's so unlikely of him to do that..."

There were several lines around "He's cruel." or "Nobody deserves such a thing." However, Mantler knew that they wouldn't understand; neither of them were in such a situation. None of the lionesses had mates - their cubs had been sired by the king - who's job it was to ensure more cubs. None of them had experienced true love, being abandoned and forced to leave their pride due to, perhaps, false predictions that your pride would turn against you, due to a tainting pregnancy - spawned by a male of another pride instead of her mate-to-be. And none of these lionesses were forced to raise their cubs in such vulnerable states; fleeing from pride males, hyenas, leopards, cheetahs, buffalo, wildebeest - anything!

They had all birthed their cubs in a peaceful landscape, where every animal had the aspect to respect each other. Protected by the king, raised alongside their fathers, siblings and best friends. They couldn't relate to anything Mantler went through - they had the lives any lion would want.

"So what happened next?" a lioness named Johari asked, impatient and willing for Mantler to continue her interesting story. "Did your father find out?"

Mantler shrugged. "I don't think he knew of Tai," she replied, a little saddened. "But afterwards, I ran away. I thought the whole pride would turn on me if they found out I was spawning the child of another male lion, instead of my mate-to-be's. My father, mother, sisters, brothers, cousins - everyone would turn on me! So I ran away."

"And then, in the rain, I gave birth to two cubs, Sarafina and another female. They were both so beautiful, but then I had committed the most foolish crime ever; I killed one of the cubs, Sarafina's sister." The lioness continued, her head low. "It pains me when I think, until this day, Sarafina could've had a twin sister to bond with..."

"May I ask..." Uru began, stepping closer towards where Mantler had laid. "Why did you kill the cub?"

"I was so overwhelmed, I thought someone would find out. I was selfish, stupid, idiotic and pathetic," Mantler sobbed, wrapping her paws around her head. "I killed her because... I thought someone would find out, that I wouldn't be able to show them to my father without them getting killed. So I killed her, and I was going to kill Sara too - maybe then I'd... be able to return and live my life normally again."

"It's okay, Mantler," the queen smiled warmly, embracing Mantler as she sobbed. The pride lionesses watched in awe; they couldn't help but feel anymore sorry for her. "You decided to let Sarafina live... right?"

Mantler nodded, proceeding to explain why. "I... did decide to let Sara live. Why? Well because, afterwards, I felt guilty for killing my other cub, and I thought that perhaps I'd be able to move away with her, to live in a different pride. I had been absent for months already in my pride, and to appear back out of nowhere would be disaster," she said, sighing. "Saying that makes me feel like a murderer."

"Maybe so, but you regret it - which is a good sign. You're here now." one of the lionesses said, stepping up from where she was laying. "What would you have named the cub if it had survived?"

"Keke."

"What a nice name," Ishi complimented as she entered the den, beaming sweetly at the new, foreign lioness. She had been there the entire time, listening to the story as the other lionesses had. And also admiring Mantler's great journey and risks to care for her cub. Suddenly, as soon as she looked down to the lioness's legs, another question came to mind. "Mantler... How did you become crippled? Was it from birth, or...?"

"No," Mantler simply said, not at all offended by the pridelander's inquiry. "I became crippled minutes after you found me- well... I don't know if I am crippled, but it seems like it. I was fleeing with Sarafina from a pride - they looked young, way younger than us. I used the old, but risky, tactic: charge straight into a wildebeest herd in hope that one of them would get lost on the way. But I managed to fall over and a wildebeest... well..."

The lionesses winced, clenching their teeth as their clever minds instinctively inferred how painful the accident was. Luckily, Mantler could picture how horrid it sounded to them; it'd be best for her to keep quiet.

Finally having arrived after an afternoon patrol, the golden king placed himself in the conversation. The conversation gradually changed its subject as the king interjected - however, it didn't matter. It was enough story time anyway. Smiling attractively at his mate, Ahadi sat beside her, proceeding to view the new guest. They both nodded at each other; an easy form of greeting.

"Rafiki is on his way to examine that hind leg of yours, Mantler." he informed. "Until then, you need some rest."

"Yes," Uru agreed, thrusting her head under Ahadi's muzzle. "He should be here any moment. The hunting party and I will be back soon; we need to bring down some wildebeest. There are some more lionesses down the slope if you're up for some socializing."

"Thank you," the guest mumbled meekly, wrapping her tail around her crippled leg, "But... I think I'll have a rest."

"That's a very good idea," Uru toyed over her shoulder as she followed the rallied lionesses out of the den. "I'm still wondering how you've survived all this time, enthusiastic when telling us your story."

* * *

And somewhere near the lionesses' shading place, were two lioness cubs. Conversating and annoying lionesses was surely fun, especially for cubs over a year old. The haggard lioness tugged her mother's ear, dragging it down playfully. One eye, instinctually, was shut. The other was wide open, and a small cubby growl seemed to errupt from her throat. The other, more sensible and calmer lioness, sat on her haunches, brushing her fur patiently as she waited for her new friend to finish her session of annoying her mother.

"Aren't you gonna do something else, Zira?" Sarafina asked innocently, stopping to speak to the other cub, "I mean, I really don't want to be annoying but... We've been tuggin- well... _you_ have been tugging lionesses' ears since the impalas were feasting over there. And now they're gone..."

"Wait, you impatient brat," Zira spat, ceasing her game of annoying her mother to speak to her new playmate. Sara sat, shocked at what her new friend had just called her. A brat? What kind of friend called her something like that? Didn't her mother say friendship was about having fun with your friends? Well, if this what friendship was, with Zira, it wasn't anything her mother had said. It was the contrary: boring, rude and only the kings knew what else. "Yeah, we'll go see Taka."

"Taka?"

"Yes, only the greatest prince ever!" Sarafina's new companion bellowed excitedly, pulling her by the shoulder and barging her like she always had.

The two lionesses approached a secluded den, firmly planted behind the main den of the kopje; only a little smaller. Old plants managed to plough their way from the ground, blocking all kind of viewpoint. Moss sprouted from all corners of the den, even some of the rocks had moss and slime. Flies buzzed about as if there was something to be excited over. What a filthy den. Nobody would want to go in there; which meant Sara wouldn't. Sadly, she wouldn't be making that choice.

As they rounded to the inside of the den, Sarafina felt like she was starting to regret being friends with Zira, even more to meet Taka. If it was Taka that lived in this small cave, they wouldn't be friends too soon. Sara was one of the hygienic, tidy and clean lionesses, who kept her habitat clean instead of filthy. It was as if nobody had been here for years.

It took almost a minute for Sarafina to notice Zira had halted, causing her to clumsily halt too. They stopped in front of a large boulder; with a small, lanky figure. The figure rapidly crawled down from the rock as if it was some kind of spider or creepy-crawly. A lion figure it was though. A little larger than both Sara and Zira.

"Taka?" Zira cried almost hopefully, the first sign of an upcoming smile appearing on her maw. And as soon as a dark-furred lion with little blobs of jet black mane emerged from the shadows, Zira seemed to have charged forward and leaped onto him, burying her petite head in the small segments of mane he had. "Taka, I've missed you!"

Ignorantly, Taka knocked Zira off of him, and continued to amble towards Sarafina. His breathing was quite heavy, Sara could hear it even from where she was standing. His foul scent managed to wrapped itself around Sarafina's nostrils, which twitched as soon as she acknowledged the utterly smelly stench. It wasn't Zira's, the stench only appeared now. So... It was Taka's. If that was so, they were far from being friends, nobody liked to be around a smelly lion who didn't clean himself or his den. He didn't seem very friendly either.

As Taka neared Sarafina, the small lioness realised the other golden cub that was with Sarabi, Naanda, Dwala and Diku was slightly larger than Taka. However, around Taka, Sarafina felt a little... petite.

The light-furred lioness smiled awkwardly, "H-Hi, Taka..." To her dismay, her stuttering gave away her instinctive fear of the male lion before her - probably why he didn't say anything else. So, to sound more friendly, Sara continued. "Um... Zira told me all about you... and you look- I mean, seem friendlier than I thought."

Nothing came out of his mouth, though. Taka simply grunted, pirouetting to face the boulder he had been slumbering on. He sauntered past Zira, ignoring her as always, much to her dislike. The teenage lion only let out an exhausted sigh as he flumped over his little resting place. Maybe he was disappointed that she was here...? Maybe he was disappointed in her? Or was he just one of those anti-social lions?

Sarafina turned to her friend, her only reliable source. Maybe she knew why Taka was acting this way? The way she had cuddled him, it seemed as if they were great friends. But the fact that Taka had batted her out of his way battled with her positive thoughts about him. "Why's he... acting like that?" the one year old asked, once they were out of earshot.

Zira shrugged. "Maybe he didn't like you," she smirked, wanting to offend her new companion. Taka was hers it seemed; if anyone was going to try and build a close relationship and warm up to him, it was her. She wouldn't let her new pride member steal the greatest prince of all. Noticing her friend's upset expression, Zira wanted to say something else. Quickly, she held Sarafina's shoulder. "Don't worry, Sarafina. Taka only likes me, that's all. You can always play with me, or the adults."

"But Taka totally ignored you," Sarafina replied defensively, pinning her ears and wanting to hint that she was hurt. "And... Taka doesn't seem friendly to anybody. If you want to spend time with Talka, I don't mind. But I think I'll get to know the other cubs."

"Other cubs?!" Zira gasped horrifically, "But they're boring, and stupid and lame! You should hang out with the cool cubs; me and Taka!"

"I don't care how lame they are, but they seem like a lot of fun." Sarafina's voice seemed to raise slightly. "And I don't want to be a cool cub! I'm not cool anyway, I was a rogue - I've been one my entire life. Maybe Taka could see I was a rogue, that's why he didn't like me. And I have a feeling you won't like me either."

The haggard cub huffed. "We could always have fun too."

"But so far, I don't really like your definition of fun," Sarafina spoke sadly. "I'm sorry if I'm sounding mean, I really don't want to be."

"We are having fun! You're the one who's not fond of anything I show you. You never accept anything. Yeah, so what if I've been tugging lionesses' ears for ages? Who are you to boss me around! You've been accepted into this pride, you're already lucky! Deal with the consequences."

"It's not that! It's just..."

"Just what?!"

"I'm not used to living in a pride." Sara's mood softened a little. "I'm sorry. But maybe you can take me to the other cubs?"

"See, you don't appreciate being with me."

Being sassed was something Sarafina didn't like- to be exact, she absolutely despised it. So the fact that her so-called new companion has decided to hold dominance by being so impudent and sassy triggered Sarafina's vexation. Immediately, the lioness snapped, thumping her front paw on the rocky cave ground. The bridge of her nose was wrinkled; she was snarling offensively at the offender.

"Of course I do! You think I've tolerated being with you because I hate you? Where's the sense?" Her tone managed to sneak up a little. "I can't meet the other cubs? That's what you're saying?"

"I'm saying you haven't even been with me for over an hour and already you want to leave me for the others."

"I'm not going to say anything, because I'm going to be mad," Sarafina simply threw back at her. "I'll find the others myself."

* * *

A mandrill gently set a gourd on the side of his baobab tree. His grey fur was matted in juice, stubbornly remaining on the segments of his fur as he tried with all force to remove it. With a long, yet obnoxious, sigh, the mandrill turned to face the laying lioness. The lioness smiled innocently at him, not wanting to be too much of a burden and assuring him that he didn't have to hurry. Her tail, as always, still managed to curl around her legs - her crippled leg simply made her cringe.

Returning the warm smile, the shaman dotted his finger with a green mixture - probably mint from the bush full of minty leaves - and gently dabbed it on Mantler's wound. And, to finish off, he wrapped a large leaf around Mantler's hind leg and tightened it by tieing a bendable twig around it. It wasn't too tight, but tight enough to keep the leaf attached to her leg for some days.

As he did so, Mantler inspected his movements thoroughly. This pride sure was lucky to have a shaman, let alone a majordomo... that could fly. Her pride only had a simple lion messenger, who had to suffer the consequences of sprinting to each territory and sending her father's messages. Flying was so much easier. She was lucky too now that she had these things. Someone to examine her wounds and care for her. If it was her old pride, she would get some attention as she received here... however, nobody would be able to cure her - no shaman was available and every lion that had caught a disease had to leave the pride to die.

If only the members of her old pride who were sick could stumble upon the Pridelands and see what an incredible place it was.

"You are temporarily crippled, Mantler." the mandrill spoke in his African accent, placing himself between Mantler's thoughts.

"Temporarily?" Mantler repeated, her voice hinting a tint of excitement. She wasn't crippled forever?

"Yes," Rafiki confirmed. "Temporarily. By, perhaps, the next wet season, you'll be able to walk around easily."

"I'm so thankful, thank you so much, Rafiki." Mantler said dreamily with a relieved sigh, observing as the mandrill tenderly patted her healing wound. "I don't know how to thank you, really..."

"Sssshhh." Rafiki hushed, throwing his hands around her muzzle. "No, no, no. No need to thank Rafiki - you are a fine lioness."

"I think so too." came another voice. The voice was doubtlessly a male's voice. However, it was unfamiliar. It was raspy but handsome; clear and not deep. It sounded like a voice of a young lion.

Mantler's ears perked in interest as she turned to the source of the voice. There stood a bulky, muscular lion. He was clearly the same age as Mantler, with a nice and neat figure; his mane a beautiful jet black, which combinated with his tawny fur. He had a lot of mane, most of it towering his right eye. And his eyes... what a soothing blue they were. Overall, the lion was handsome.

"You are a very fine lioness, indeed." He continued to flatter her, causing her to blush harder than ever.

"Thank you," Mantler nodded, beaming brightly at the lion. "But who are you?"

"This," Rafiki introduced, stepping into the conversation, "is my assistant - the second shaman. He nurses the wounded lionesses, or any animal, of the Pridelands. I found him here in the Pridelands, abandoned by his family, his pride. But here, today, he is... in the Pridelands."

The male nodded. "I am ever so grateful to be founded by Rafiki - he truly is the best shaman ever." They all chuckled for a few moments, before the lion had something else to say. "My name is Jahi. And yours?"

"Jahi?..." Mantler repeated in shock.

* * *

_"Jahi! He's been gone for months. How could he abandon the pride like that? Our cubs? Me?" a pale lioness sobbed._

_"He'll be back soon, I promise."_

_"It's been eight months! Surely he's dead, I'll never see my mate again..."_

_"Eshe, I promise, he's not dead, he's a very strong lion."_

_"No, Mantler, he's gone... If he's gone, so am I."_

_"Eshe... No, don't jump off!" the lioness screamed towards her suicidal friend. "ESHE! NO!"_

* * *

"You!" Mantler bellowed in a matter of seconds. She seemed to have recognized this lion. Without warning, she leaped onto him, the bridge of her nose crinkling into a snarl.


	6. Something new

A/N: Yay a new chapter! :DD Thank you, GuardianSaint, for the review also! Yes, it is one way, haha. Thank you!

I think the next few chapters will focus on Mantler. But there will be some Sarafina too. However, I don't think Zira will be present in the next few chapters. She's got nothing to do just yet .w.

* * *

The Lion King: Teal Eyes.

Chapter 5: Something new.

* * *

Four cubs were peacefully sat on their haunches at the waterfall. Gossiping wasn't something rare for them, especially when something new had occurred in their pride. And at this particular, a new lioness and her cub had something worth gossiping about to these prideland cubs. Their gossips would go unnoticed as usual, but at least they had gotten the chance to rant about it. The only one who didn't say anything was the youngest cub of all in the Pridelands: Diku, who seemed to be far too innocent to judge one at first sight.

On her own, Diku sat, motionlessly staring down to her miserable reflection in the waterhole. The dejected lioness rubbed her dusty paw across her face, her muzzle now completely matted in savanna dust. Sighing, she contemplated the elephants splash around in the water, huge and content expressions plastered across their faces. How she wanted a friend like that, a best friend who would accompany her to wherever she wanted to go, instead of her being dragged across with her sisters and the older cubs and having to listen to their numerous gossips.

To her, their gossips seemed mean, disrespectful or whatever negative word she could throw in. She didn't have her own playmate. And everybody seemed to stare at her because she was blind. She was blind, but she could still see some things. The only thing Diku wanted was to be treated like a normal cub. Not to follow her sisters in everything, or to be told off by Zira. Life for this cub was utterly bitter and confusing. So many questions has loosely translated her perplexion and frustration.

In annoyance, she threw a rock into the water, hurrying its current and causing one of the elephant calves to subside. Possibly this was a message of some kind. And before she knew it, the other elephant calf was helping his companion up, triggering Diku's jealous mode on. She sprinted back to Pride Rock, surely her mother would be there to comfort her.

And as always, her feelings were unnoticed by the older cubs, who were too caught up in their gossiping to pay attention to her. Naanda appeared to be speaking first, ranting about how Sarafina always stuck with Zira.

"Seriously, it hasn't even been a day and I already don't like her," Naanda said in irritation. "All she ever does is follow Zira. Zira this, Zira that! She could've easily told Zira to wait."

"Come on, Naanda. You can't blame her." Sarabi cooed, resting her head on her crossed paws. "You know how Zira is, she barely gave the girl a choice."

"Yes, Sarabi, but the thing is. If she's always gonna hang around Zira, soon she'll be like Zira." Dwala reasoned. "It's better she knows we don't like her already. Less damage will be done, because then she knows to stay away from us."

"Dwala, Naanda. You should listen. That cub seems really friendly!" Mufasa chimed in. "Like Sarabi said; it wasn't her fault! We don't even know her name. You can't just judge her right off the bat like that."

"And you can't assume she's the nicest cub just by introducing herself to us- no. She didn't even introduce herself! How rude is that?!" Naanda snapped, baring her fangs. "She probably only greeted us because her mother was there..."

"You're too thick-headed to understand anything, Naanda. You're just like Zira." the prince insulted. "The newbie hasn't done anything to you, you can't just assume like that."

"Shut up, Mufasa, just because you think she's pretty doesn't mean you can defend her like that." And the quarrel seemed to be escalating.

"Yeah, Mufasa. The only reason you're defending her is because you like her," Dwala piped. "Like Zira said, cubs like her are stuck up and it seems to be true."

"Who said I liked-"

"Guys, we need to be fair and reasonable!" Sarabi yelled at the top of her lungs, frightening the animals and silencing the cubs. She turned to her second-eldest sibling, softening her tone slightly. "Naanda, we all know how Zira is. What Mufasa's saying makes sense; we can't just judge her because she went with Zira. She's not used to anything here, she doesn't know who's bad and who's good. Let her find out for herself."

"That's right, Sarabi. Always defending Mufasa because you're gonna be his future queen," Naanda grunted. "I'm not waiting around to see who she'll pick. I'd probably be dead by the time she comes to us. I'm going before I get even more mad than I already am. C'mon, Dwala. Let's go."

Mufasa and Sarabi watched as Naanda and Dwala sauntered away together, to where the lionesses would usually repose with some other cubs. Looking at each other, the two adolescents shook their heads leisurely in disappointment. Disappointed mostly by Naanda's conclusion and how Dwala had always agreed. This new cub would be the nicest cub ever, why couldn't they see that? She was clearly tugged away by Zira, and it was clear that she didn't want to be. She practically insisted on finishing her introduction even thought Zira was having none of it.

With nothing else to say, Sarabi ambled over towards the water, sitting by it as she observed Mufasa come and sit too. She seemed to have covered her face, burying it in her paws and clearly frustrated. Silence had envoloped the two cubs from there, however, they were both thinking the same thing. The flaxen male cub opened his mouth to speak, but his future mate had beat him to it.

"I'm sorry about my sisters," the lioness cub apologized, fidgeting with her paws. "They can be really mean sometimes."

"Don't be sorry, Sarabi, I'm sorry you had to deal with the arguing. Let alone me insulting your sisters."

"Oh hush, now, Mufasa." Sarabi placed a paw over his maw. "Don't be sorry. I know Naanda can be a blabber-mouth sometimes. And Dwala just a cub who agrees with just about anything - I hate to admit it, but it's true."

Somehow, the one year olds seemed to have shifted closer to each other. Their furs seemed to be rubbing; tan mixing with golden, which stirred a rather awkward moment for the two. Once again, silence seemed to have webbed them; there was really nothing else to be said.

"Hey!"

Ears flickered, Sarabi and Mufasa spun around to see who had just addressed them. There, before them, was a light-furred lioness cub with a similar age to theirs. Her teal eyes seemed to shine with interest and joy, as she excitedly pounced over to the cubs. A large, and firm smile was planted on her muzzle as she hopped around the pair. It was the new cub. She seemed happier than before, happy to have escaped from Zira it seemed. And willing to make some new friends.

"Hi!" Sarabi greeted enthusiastically, approaching the new cub. "What're you doing here?" Sarabi shook her head; what a stupid question. She was obviously here to play with them. "Sorry, I meant..."

"It's okay... Sarabi, right?"

The lioness cub nodded, triggering Sarafina's large smile on again. She then studied the golden prince that seemed to be ambling towards the lionesses. Quickly recoiling under her shell, her courage defeated, Sara blushed. The blush was clearly visible on her face, which made her feel even more stupid. And it was obvious she was blushing, possibly, because of him?

"What's your name?" Sarabi interrogated, snapping Sarafina out of her thoughts.

"I haven't told you? How silly of me!" Sarafina giggled. "I'm Sarafina, but you can call me Sara."

"H-Hi..." Mufasa stuttered as he approached the two lionesses. "I-I'm M-Mufasa."

"So that's what you're called..." Sara whispered to herself, though it was clearly audible.

"Weren't you with Zira, Sara?" Sarabi asked, not wanting to seem rude or impolite. She was just curious as to why Zira let her go so easily. And how she seemed to still be kind. Surely she could prove to Naanda that Sara wasn't as bad as she thought. In fact, she was really friendly.

"Oh..." Sarafina sighed, her large smile evaporating. She pinned her ears behind her head and she shamefully looked away from the two. "I hope I don't sound mean whilst I say this but, she's kinda mean..."

"I'm glad you think the same as us," Mufasa said, more confident this time. "Nobody here likes her. She's stuck up."

"I think so too." the new cub said, glad to have not been hated for disliking one of the pride cubs. "She only cares about herself..."

"Well, forget Zira, Sara. You're with us now," Sarabi said, nudging her new playmate with a grin.

Sarafina lightened up slightly. She was with new friends, they still had a lot to know about each other. Hopefully they, at any point, wouldn't be like Zira. She was certain they wouldn't though. They seemed to be so much fun already, and so much more friendlier. However, she could have sworn she saw two more other cubs with them. And where were they now? Sarafina swatted her head around, her eyes finally catching them. They seemed to have been sat under a tree not too far away. Their expressions translated annoyance, hopefully it was nothing to do with her.

"What about your sisters?" the light-furred cub inquired as she was led towards a baobab tree.

Mufasa and Sarabi made eye contact, frowning afterwards. "Busy." they both replied, in unison.

And from Naanda and Dwala's perspective, the new cub looked as if she was making new friends. It was slightly infuriating to them. They didn't like her at all. She was annoying, probably sent by Zira to spy on them. And she's betray them sooner or later. It was so obvious. Naanda huffed in frustration as she grumpily throbbed her chin on her paws.

"It looks like they're friends now," Dwala reported quietly to her sister. Naanda didn't say a word, building more tension for the two. Because of this, Dwala thought specifying would be more helpful. "They've taken a liking to her."

"They'll learn their lesson, don't worry," Naanda hissed. Not at Dwala, but at the thought of the new cub. The sisters both watched Sarafina bounce around her two friends. "She'll betray them, just wait."

Dwala nodded in certainty. She didn't like Sara so much, but she wasn't so bad. She didn't understand why Naanda was so angry.

* * *

"Mantler, please calm down." Rafiki soothed, gently pulling the lioness off of the male.

Mantler's gaze softened as she faced the mandrill, but a faint frown still remained. She refused to unsheath her claws, she was too worked up. How could she anyway? She had just found out that her best friend's mate was living somewhere else, away from her and their cubs, which ultimately caused her to kill herself. Though Rafiki had told her to remain calm, she hadn't changed her posture so much.

A snarl still managed to crinkle on her maw, but only slightly.

Finally free from the lioness's crazy, tight pin, the male lion named Jahi verticalled onto his paws. Her attack was unpredictable, he barely knew her. Or did he? She seemed to have recognized him, but he didn't. In fact, she didn't even offer her name. The moment he had been informed of her name, maybe some memories would come back. However, right now, he was waiting for an explanation as to why she she seemed to violent.

And to contrast, all Mantler wanted to do was rip this lion to shreds. His past actions had no justification, he deserved to suffer. Never had he once thought about his mate and cubs, and never had he decided to go back.

"You were alive all this time...?!" she continued, ignoring Rafiki's advice for a second, "And you didn't even think of returning?"

To be lectured without a simple explanation was something Jahi despised. He didn't know her, she didn't need to pin him without hearing him out first. "And you didn't even think twice before pinning me? Well excuse me, but you are a very rude lioness!"

"You have the audacity to call me rude...!"

"ENOUGH!" the shaman bellowed at the top of his lungs, baring his fangs and shutting the jibs of the two lions. He turned to Jahi. "What is going on? How does she know you?"

"I don't know," Jahi shrugged, still glaring at Mantler. "I honestly don't even know her name! And somehow she knows me."

"Don't be stupid Jahi, you know me." Mantler spat, raking her claws in anger. "I'm Mantler, the one who comforted your mate when you so happened to leave the pride without warning. You were next in line to the throne after my father! You left her, and your cubs. She killed herself because of you!" Tears sprinted out of her eyes uncontrollably as she stepped forward, pushing the lion with her paws as she cursed him. Her voice seemed to break a little also. "You, because of you! She's dead, I won't see her again. Curse you!"

It was then that she completely broke down, ignoring her wounds and sobbing hysterically on the ground. Both Jahi and Rafiki were speechless. They had never seen her so upset, and her frustration was very clear. Bending down so he was in level with her, Rafiki wrapped his arms around the lioness, rubbing her head gently to soothe her pain. He then shot a glare at his assistant, who still didn't seem very pleased.

"Rafiki... I-"

"I shall see you outside." the mandrill said simply, sending the male out of the scene, with his glare still clear. He swatted his head back to face the sobbing lioness. Lifting up her chin slowly, he began to speak, and a warm smile managed to appear on his face. "Mantler? Look at me."

Obediently, the lioness opened her eyes.

"What happened? How do you know this fella?"

Hesitantly, the female lion began to speak. "We used to be in the s-same pride... And because we were short of males, my f-father had decided Jahi would be the next ruler; since he was the strongest male there." Mantler responded, seeming a little calmer.

Rafiki nodded, his way of telling her he was listening, and for her to continue.

"Our system back in my lands doesn't work like here, in the Pridelands. The first male born of the king gets the throne, and he or the current king chooses his mate. My father didn't have any male cubs, that's why he chose Jahi. And Jahi was also the strongest - fit to be a ruler. However, my father chose Jahi's future mate. Her name was Eshe, and she loved him dearly." Mantler sniffled some. "They got along so well; they even had cubs! Two cubs, both male and female. But then, one day Jahi just left..."

"Yes, he told he had left an old pride due to some problems, but he didn't tell me which problems."

"And when Jahi left, everyone was confused. My parents were worried for him, and for the pride's future. His mate was devastated, and after eight months, she had killed herself by jumping off a cliff."

"And his cubs?" Rafiki inquired curiously, a concerned frown planted firmly on his face. "Do they still live?"

"They do, but they're under the care of my mother and some of the pride lionesses. And now that I've found Jahi, I don't know what to say. I'm so ashamed, so surprised he'd abandoned the pride like that. He was such a caring lion, we all thought he was killed. We all suffered, and here he his, living a good life in the Pridelands."

Rafiki facepalmed himself. The story was surely disturbing, and to think his greatest friend in the Pridelands could do such a thing. To leave his mate and cubs, and to totally abuse his responsibility as a future king that so many lions had dreamed of having.

"I am sorry for such a story, Mantler," he said. "But think, maybe he wasn't happy there? Maybe he didn't like his mate like she loved him? It's why you're here isn't it? You don't like your mate-to-be too. You have to be fair."

The lioness huffed. "That's true, Rafiki. But I was forced to. And I was pregnant, I couldn't go back and risk the life of innocent cubs. He could've at least tried to confront my father before actually starting a life with the female." She struggled to her feet. "I'm going back. Thank you for the medicine, take care, and I hope you understand why I'm so mad at him."

Rafiki shrugged, standing to his feet too. "I'll speak to him about it. Goodbye, Mantler. Do you need help walking, or...?"

"I can manage." the pale lioness smiled in return, wincing only slightly at the pain. "Goodbye."

* * *

Finally she had managed to climb down the tree. Wrinkling her face from the painful hind leg, Mantler continued to hop. She was hopping away from the baobab tree at this point, until someone had stopped her. Lifting her head up, Mantler's eyes widened in surprise, then instantly furrowed.

"What are you doing here?" Her tone was laced with anger and irritation. She was in pain at the moment, physically and emotionally, the last thing she needed was an argument. Her fangs were bared, illustrating her seriousness.

"I live here too, ya know." Jahi smirked, narrowing his eyebrows to form a mischievous look. And then, he all seriousness, he added, "I want to talk to you."

"I don't know what there is to talk about, Jahi. Just let me be."

"Mantler listen, I remember you, alright? Just hear me out." he sounded a little more serious than before, yet his tone seemed to be almost begging. Mantler froze, she still wasn't convinced.

"Why? Your foolishness practically killed my best friend!" she yelled. "And you abandoned your responsibilities! You're the future king, for king's sake!"

"Well why are you here? You abandoned your responsibilities too! What about your future mate, and your mother and father?" Jahi interrogated, irritated. "You ran away for no particular reason, why don't you question yourself that?" He wanted her to cry again. It was cruel, but she deserved to feel his pain. She had run away after him, abandoning her family just as he did. Why was he being lectured only?

Fortunately, for Mantler, his words didn't seem to make her cry. They hurt a little, but not enough for tears to actually well up in her eyes. "I did leave for a reason." she replied as simply as possible. "I didn't have a responsibility that concerned the whole pride. My father only wanted me to have cubs. Why did you leave anyway?"

Jahi sat, sighing. "It kills me every time that I couldn't make Eshe as happy as she could've been. I wasn't enough for her. It pains me even more that she died because of me. Even more that our cubs are left without any parents. But I ran away because I wasn't in love with her."

"Why didn't you just confront my father before you even got married?"

"I didn't want to disappoint him. I knew I was important for the pride, but I never wanted to be king. And for the pride's sake I just gave in," he shrugged. "Then I married Eshe, and then she was particularly sad one night. Your father had forced me to remain with her. So I did. She asked me to cuddle her, so I hesitantly did. Then she asked me to... to stay with her for the night. I didn't want to sleep with her, but she begged me to. And then in three months came our cubs. I was so surprised, so annoyed, I wanted to kick myself for making such a mistake. I just couldn't imagine a future with someone I didn't love."

Mantler rolled her eyes with a huff. "I hate to admit it, but that's a similar reason as to why I left."

"Oh?"

"Yes. I was forced to marry one of the lions in the pride. I didn't love him, so I met this other lion, from another pride. We eventually fell in love, and we met every night. And on a particular night, we mated. I don't know, we just... we did it." she braced herself for an angry reaction, but when he didn't do anything, she continued. "And then, a week later, I found out I was pregnant. And I wanted to tell him. I did, and since then, I haven't seen him ever. I left the pride because I was so ashamed, and I was too young. And also, me and my mate-to-be have never... mated, so it would be obvious the cub wasn't his. So I ran away. I gave birth away from the pride, and foolishly killed one of my cubs because I was so frightened, so scared."

She swallowed hard. _He's gonna kill me._

"But then I thought it was wrong, so I let my last cub live. I named her Sarafina, and we stumbled across here. She was the one who had got us into the pride," she chuckled then. "And ever since, I've been wanting to see her father, but it won't happen, I think."

"Man, your mate's a rhino's butt," Jahi spat, releasing his breath he held in frustration. "He doesn't deserve you."

"I don't deserve_ him_. I screwed up, I shouldn't have let him do it to me."

"Impossible!" he said, bumping heads with her. "You both made mistakes but you're managing pretty well."

"Thanks," she beamed at him, staring into his eyes. "And... I'm sorry for being so harsh on you."

"It's fine, I understand why."

They both looked over the horizon. The night seemed to be swallowing the sun at this point, allowing the African wildlife to take over. Jahi then turned to Mantler, and Mantler turned to him. They both stood, smiling at each other.

"I've gotta get back to Rafiki before he worries over me," Jahi informed the lioness, still looking at her.

Mantler chuckled, pawing him. "Go on, you big beast. And," She trusted her head under his muzzle, tenderly rubbing her head under his chin before pulling out and smiling at him. "Thank you for today. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Goodnight," Jahi smiled back at her, slightly shocked from her affectionate move. "I'll see you tomorrow."


	7. True colours

A/N: I just realized that soon, in December, it'll be one year that I've done this fic. 03o

Reviews;

**GuardianSaint** \- it sure is! :D Thank you for reviewing!

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**Guest** \- Thank you. c=

Without further ado (or ado the further ljahaka) here is chapter 6!

* * *

The Lion King: Teal Eyes.

Chapter 6: True colours.

* * *

Dawn had soon differed with the Serengeti, the African wildlife slowly awakening as the powerful sun dramatically hovered in the distance. Light traces of rain unhurriedly began cascading through the Pridelands, mostly a disaster for most animals; cubs especially, who were expecting a joyous and exciting day, only to be kept back by their parents and unable to advance towards playing in the rain. And whilst the tiny raindrops speckled upon the lands, so did bad luck for some of the lions living at Pride Rock. Especially for the cubs.

For most of today, they'd spend their time condemned to the den... well, unless their mothers had permitted them to play out. And as always, this was unlikely. In the wet season, several wildebeest and zebra would be trotting around the Pridelands. And for the carnivorous creatures in the land, food would be excess as the wet season lasted for quite a while. The cubs would feel pampered and full in the wet season, but most of the time, they were to remain at Pride Rock. Several areas would be flooded, spilling a high risk of hyperthermia. But diseases weren't the only problem. Being trampled was as facile as catching an illness at this moment. Especially since the zebra and wildebeest had traveled in herds.

The den seemed to be congested with pride lions at the moment, but soon they'd leave under the order of Queen Uru. For the lionesses, it was just another morning in the wet season, and for the cubs, it was another way of spending the day just laying. Sarabi, Sarafina and Mufasa had just awoken from their peaceful slumber, and were now near the entrance of the den studying the pouring rain together.

"Isn't it amazing how the rain just falls?" Mufasa questioned, trying to be like the intelligent cub who contemplated everything. "I wonder how it came to be."

"Yes, it is quite a sight," Sarafina noted, nodding. "It's worse when you're out in the wild having to run in it, though."

"What do you mean?" Sarabi inquired, including herself in the conversation.

Sarafina cocked her head to her left as she perplexingly eyed her friend. She hadn't told her friends anything about her past? Well, it wasn't like she wanted to tell them anyway, she was afraid of their reactions. Like the cubs in her thoughts, they'd probably stare at her strangely, ditch her and never speak to her again. Being an outcast wasn't something to be proud about, even if some cubs found it interesting. It was as if she was excluded from her pride for something wrong - despite the fact that she was born into exile. It wasn't something fun to tell at all. She could be judged, or even worse: her mother could be judged if Sarafina had chosen to tell her friends about how her mother came into exile.

She didn't know every detail, of course. All she knew was that her mother had disobeyed her father which was why she was in this 'exile'.

The lioness cub shook her head, shrugging her shoulders as a bright smile emerged on her muzzle. "Oh, nothing, Sarabi." she replied innocently. "I meant... Imagine if a-animals running from each other got s-soaked out there, ya know? E-Especially the ones that hate water..."

"Why would they be running from each other?" Mufasa chuckled, eyeing Sarabi while he spoke. "We're all respected here in the Pridelands."

"I-I didn't know," Sara fibbed. "I-In my old pride, t-things were different. Not like here in the... Pridelands."

Their conversation was interrupted when the queen ambled over towards her with a large grin on her face, with more than seven lionesses behind her. The lionesses smiled at the cubs also, whilst other nuzzled their cubs goodbye. Bending down so that she was down to their height, Uru began to speak.

"We're leaving now for the hunt," the chestnut-coated lioness informed. "Goodbye, and please remain in the den with the cresh."

"Cresh?" Sara repeated as her teal eyes dilated in confusion. What was a cresh? Perhaps the queen said the word wrong... The only word Sarafina knew that had sounded somewhat similar to cresh was crash. The lioness cub's face wrinkled in confusion as she watched the adult lioness laugh slightly.

"A cresh is a group of lionesses that remain at Pride Rock to watch the cubs, since I am always busy around here, as is Ahadi, Rafiki and the huntresses," Uru said slowly. "We rotate lionesses every few days, and most of them are lionesses that had recently had cubs."

"Good idea, right?" Sarabi smirked as she elbowed the younger lioness. "Sometimes, I guess, hehe."

Sarafina nodded in certainty. She had never heard of such a thing before, but then again, she had never been in a pride before. Just by listening to the queen's explanation, Sarafina could tell there was still yet to learn about living in a pride. And a cresh was a good way to socialize with the pride lionesses and some of the cubs. She also knew hunting was a lot of work, living with a cresh in a pride was a rather great way for lionesses to take a break. Either way, the hunting would be done.

"Where's Taka, by the way?" the brown lioness asked sadly over her shoulder, stopping at the den's entrance to speak.

As soon as she asked this, Mufasa and Sarabi's eyes drooped; and so did their moods. It was hard to predict why, nothing seemed to be wrong with Taka. He seemed to enjoy his, somewhat, luxurious life in the smaller den around the corner with Zira for company. However, he did always have the same dejected and plain expression. Noticing Mufasa and Sarabi's mood drop, the queen had already found an answer.

She sighed exhaustingly, furrowing her brows as she began to amble once more. "I hope he warms up to us one day..."

"What did she mean by that?" Sara asked Mufasa and Sarabi once the huntresses had left. "He is the prince, right? And he seems to be living his life greatly in the other den... I know it's a little dirty but, he seems to be fine with it."

"Taka used to be a great, bountiful cub." Mufasa told Sarafina. "But ever since the hyena incident, and finding out I was to become king... he... kinda distanced from us a little."

"And he seems to be getting the same amount of affection as Mufasa. Not anymore, though, because he always snaps at one of us." Sarabi added. The bridge of her nose somehow formed a snarl. "He doesn't deserve such a thing anyway, but I don't blame him."

"Why not?" Sarafina asked curiously, not wanting to seem intrusive or argumentative. It was more curiosity that had triggered her questions. Anybody could understand that, especially Sarabi, who was an intelligent cub. Questions happened to anybody, it could be good or bad. Mostly, though, in the cases of the adults, it was irritating.

"Because Mufasa is always having to leave him for his kingly lessons and everybody praises Mufasa more," Sarabi reasoned, noticing the dirty look she had earned from Mufasa, to which she quickly added, "It's not his fault though. Mufasa does everything to protect his brother."

"I'd like to think so," Sarafina smirked, moving closer towards Mufasa. "Muffy's a very noble cub."

Mufasa flinched. "Muffy?" He also noticed how close she was which stimulated his uncomfortable mode.

"Yes," the lighter lioness nodded. "It's a name I made up for you."

"Sara, maybe Mufasa needs a little personal space," Sarabi chuckled to mask her jealousy. However, her emotions were always easy to read.

When Mufasa and Sarabi looked away, Sara couldn't help but shoot a dirty look at her new friend. Maybe she was close, but to point out something such as so was embarrassing. And in some cases, rude - especially when there was not even the slightest tinge of the lioness being apologetic. As soon as she faced back, she beamed awkwardly at Mufasa, then to Sarabi.

"Sorry."

"That's okay," the other cubs nodded. "Want to meet some of the other cubs at the waterhole?"

"I thought we had to remain with the cresh," Sarafina pointed out slowly, not liking where their idea was headed. "We can't sneak out, can we?"

"Of course we can!" the golden prince exclaimed, always up for a game of danger. His future mate had happened to cover his mouth again. She had a habit of doing so when Mufasa had always managed to spill secrets, or when he was being too impolite. Mufasa frowned at his friend's action. She almost always did this. "What's with the maw-covering, Sarabi?"

"Ssshh!" the dark-furred cub yelped. "You're giving it away!"

"I don't like this idea." Sara said uncomfortably, burying her head in her shoulders. "Disobeying your mothers is something dangerous."

"Oh, Sarafina!" Mufasa snapped, barging her playfully. "That's the point! I like dangerous."

"It's not so dangerous, Sara. We're only going to see the other cubs and bring them back. They snuck out too."

* * *

Mantler lay on her side on an immense boulder at the base of Pride Rock. She eyed her wounded paw, frowning at it before reposing her head again in a huff. She didn't like the idea of being crippled until the next wet season; it wasn't so long, however it was still a while. She'd miss her first dry season in the Pridelands - a relief and not a relief. It was the season where the buffalo had hogged up the waterhole and the grazing areas in the Pridelands - she wouldn't have to hunt until then. But she wouldn't be able to get on her feet and run around with some of the cubs.

And as always, she'd have to be escorted by one of the pridelanders - being crippled didn't even allow privacy! And to top it all, whenever she walked, her paw and ached as much as her shoulders did afterwards. She felt like an old lioness who couldn't do anything on her own when it was life that had so harshly taken away her independance. What a shame.

The dejected lioness studied each and every one of the huntresses as they exited the main den, hopping down from the top and towards the bottom to where more lionesses were. And on some of the other rocks, more lionesses basked with newborn cubs in their paws, huge smiles planted firmly on their faces. It would be nice to go and start a conversation with them, but Mantler didn't feel like it. Whenever she saw these new and happy mothers, guilt was the emotion that showered her the most.

If only Sarafina could be born in a pride to socialize with cubs sooner, to have the support of a lion that would be a father figure to her. And the lionesses' smiles made her feel even worse. Sure, her and Sara were happy now. But they could have been happier before, and she didn't know anything about socializing with cubs. And the fact that Mantler was crippled worsened the situation. Her and her daughter couldn't get to know the Pridelands together and tussle like the other cubs did with their mothers. If only life had taken a better turn for her...

"Hey."

That one word that had interrupted the lioness's thoughts had somehow brought her a little happiness. She finally had someone to speak to. Mantler spun around, Jahi was in front of her.

"What are you doing here?" the light-furred lioness questioned, an eyebrow raised. "Aren't you busy with Rafiki? Curing patients?"

Jahi shrugged. "I was but... I wanted to do something else."

Mantler threw her head back in shock. "You can't just do that Jahi, that's... You've got lionesses to care for!"

"Relax," the lion said calmly. "There aren't any wounded animals today, Rafiki has it all covered." He sat in front of her. "What are you doing here all by yourself?"

"What the hell do you think?" Mantler huffed pessimistically. "Did you think I'd be chasing off after the hunting party? I wish I could but..."

"I get it, you're currently questioning your actions and your wound." He read her mind as if there was an image before him. Mantler's ears perked in interest. It was strange that he, out of all things to do, came to Pride Rock... and to read her mind too.

"How'd you know?" she hissed, re-adjusting herself so she could view him properly. "Are you some kind of mind-reader?"

"No." Jahi replied, shaking his head slowly. "It's written all over your face. I've already told you, you have nothing to question. You're doing well in life- you've recovered from your setback."

"No." Mantler argued, somehow panicked. "Sarafina could've been raised like they are now! She doesn't know anything about living in a pride and it's my fault!" She gestured towards the two pride lionesses licking the newborn cubs. "I have nothing to be proud of Jahi, leave it at that."

"Maybe so, but she is in a pride now and has all the opportunities to learn." Jahi said, ignoring the lioness's request. "Those lionesses would be gobsmacked if they realized what you went through. And now you're here, in a pride, happy. Wasn't that your dream?"

"It was, but what if the cubs ask where she came from? How's she gonna deal with-"

"Mantler, stop." the lion instructed, growing increasingly irritated that she somehow always had something to argue. "Forget the past: it won't help you with anything. Focus on the future."

The tawny lioness sighed. "I wish I wasn't such a burden."

Jahi reeled back, astonished. How could she say such a thing? All she needed was a little support, she was going through something hard. Guilt wasn't the easiest of emotions to deal with, he'd learned that the hard way. It had completely destroyed his confidence and self-esteem. He wouldn't let that occur to his friend. He nudged her. "Hey, everyone goes through hard times. That's what friends are for, and that's what I'm for. To help."

"So I _am_ being a burden to you?" she inquired dejectedly. Being a burden was the last thing she wanted to be for Jahi. Her mistake was humiliating enough. Being a burden would be even more humiliating.

Jahi, on the other hand, didn't know how to respond. He wanted to be completely honest; she was quite difficult to cheer up. But lying was something he knew not to do. Once he lied, he knew he couldn't be trusted. And the lies wouldn't stop, either. "It's quite hard to cheer you up sometimes," he sighed. "But out of all my cases, you're a very strong lioness."

Suddenly, he found himself lost in her nuzzling. She leaned on him and buried her face in his brown mane, smiling brightly with her eyes shut and allowing herself to be taken back by his warmth. Jahi smiled some; he knew she needed some nuzzles and an embrace to feel a little better.

* * *

"How many cubs are there, again?" Sarafina interrogated for the third time as they neared the watering hole. The rain had ceased, but the waterhole was thriving with parched zebras and wildebeest.

Of course. It was the wet season, and they would be migrating into the Pridelands for food and water. It was only normal in their herd. There were so many zebras that Sarafina's eyes had begun to hurt slightly. The bright colouring was way too tiring for her eyes, and the cubs' eyes too.

Realizing that Sara was speaking to her, Sarabi quickly replied. "We have... many cubs in the pride, but some lionesses recently had new cubs as the queen said, so maybe a little more."

Sarafina gulped, flattening her ears. "They're not like Zira, are they?"

"Not at all," Mufasa responded, pouncing forward so he was ahead of the two lioness cubs.

The three cubs had finally reached the watering hole, ambling over towards five cubs who were reposing by the water, laughing hysterically as they watched several zebra and wildebeest calves struggle into the water. Mufasa excitedly ran to his small group of friends with a large smile on his face, taking a seat beside a rather tawny-furred male cub with a head tuft even darker than his fur.

As Sarafina walked beside Sarabi, she felt all eyes on her. So, she did the only thing she could do. Nervously, she shut her eyes and put her head down as she walked, now feeling small around the other cubs. Sarabi seemed to have taken a seat besides Naanda, who was glaring at the new cub.

"Who's that cub?" a pale lioness named Emem inquired. "I've never seen her before."

"She is new." Naanda spat dryly, clearly expressing hate in her words.

"Gee, Naanda, you sound like Zira!" the male cub beside Mufasa pointed out, spitting and rolling about in laughter. "What'd she do to you?"

"Shut up, Kijani, I'll pin you." Naanda threatened, extending one claw and showing it off to the teaser.

Sarabi and Mufasa shared the same concerned look, before Sarabi suggested another subject. "Maybe we can play a game that would introduce each and every one of us to Sara."

Sarafina looked around coyly, before shifting closer towards Sarabi. Never had she felt so shy. She was alright around Mufasa and Sarabi; they were only two. But around many more other cubs, that was a disaster.

"How'd you play?" Emem perked in interest, leaning forward to illustrate her excitement.

"Well, I have to give you all questions, and you have to answer. And..." Sarabi scanned the circle of cubs. "...Dwala will ask me a question."

"Who'll start?"

"Me, me, me!" a rather petite pale cub jumped up and down from the circle of cubs. She seemed too be very excited to play.

"Okay, Bali." Sarabi nodded, smiling at the cub. "Give us three facts of yourself."

"My name's Bali," she imitated the king's brave pose, causing the other cubs to laugh. "I... like the rain and... I absolutely hate the hindquarters of a zebra."

"But they're so tasty!" Kijani protested, throwing his face into Bali's. "You must be some kind of weirdo."

And the next thing that occurred was Bali playfully tackling the larger cub, growing and tugging his ear as he sarcastically called for help. Once again, the group of cubs laughed - including Sarafina.

"Emem, give us... five facts about yourself," Sarabi ordered, "We all know you're quite interesting."

"Well..." Emem began enthusiastically. "I've spoken to a crocodile before, stole one of those weird fruits from the monkey's tree, tried eating grass before, tussled with the queen, andddd... I have spoken to a rogue before!"

At her last sentence, everybody gasped and it made Sarafina feel quite uncomfortable. She was a rogue, and like she had expected, the cubs were surprised to hear their friend had even spoken to a rogue. Speaking to a rogue was dangerous, they were always found on the edge of the border and what lied outside the border was another different world. Hyenas were said to have spread everywhere and were mostly known for being disgusting and brutal cubkillers.

And now it was Naanda's turn, who wasn't too fond of having someone she didn't particularly like in the circle play with them. She shrugged her shoulders as she came to answer Sarabi's question. "Something I dislike in the pride? Cubs in it. Particularly new ones."

Everyone turned to Sarafina, who was on the edge of bursting into tears. She tried to hold them back, but her throat seemed to be tightening. "I-I'm sorry, Sarabi," Her voice was breaking. "I-I gotta go."

She didn't even let her friend respond and she was off, charging through a great cluster of grazing zebra, back to Pride Rock. The cubs in the circle turned to face Naanda, cross expressions exposed on her face.

"That was harsh, Naanda." Bali said. "She hasn't done anything to you."

"I knew you never liked her, but I never knew you'd actually try to hint it with your words." Dwala scolded. "That was mean."

"It's not my fault! You told me to answer honestly, and I did." Naanda protested, feeling hurt.

"Well, we didn't expect that!" Mufasa put in, his voice laced with anger. "Now she'll think we're the worst pride ever."

A male cub named Aberash stepped into the conversation with another female cub named Jana. "Wow, Naanda." they said sarcastically in unison.

"Nevermind Naanda! We've gotta find her." Sarabi suggested, charging back to Pride Rock with everybody but Naanda after her. Naanda slammed her paw on the ground, causing the muddy water to fly back up at her.

"Why is it always her who gets the attention?!" She turned to her left. There was a dark silhouette of a cub stumbling behind the bushes in the distance. Naanda smirked. "Maybe I can put an end to this."


	8. Ordinarily

A/N: yikes! It has been so long since I've updated this story and I am sorry for that XD. I just haven't found the interest at all to write even if I've been reading a lot in this period, and I've just been so busy. -cries at my erased documents-

Of course, like always, I will allow myself to venture off and get distracted instead of completing my tasks ;_; *looks toward bag swamped with homework and exam books* ...yeaaaah and they're all due in for Friday/Monday/Tuesday. How ridiculous am I xD

* * *

The Lion King: Teal Eyes

Chapter 7: Ordinarily.

* * *

Sorrow had been bullying Sarafina ever since she had managed to escape her humiliation in the circle of cubs. Well... she didn't seem to think so. She could have sworn she had caught Mufasa, Sarabi and the rest of the cubs take off after her. It was comforting to know that several cubs cared about her well-being, and would even cease their fun and games to come after her. It was a selfish thought, but maybe - just maybe - Naanda was somewhere in the crowd wanted to explain herself.

Certainly would be wise of her to do so.

Sarafina tightened the grip of her tail, seemingly wrapped around her body, and permitted that her claws would mar the hideout in where she hid. From the day she was born, Sara had always portrayed this as a sign of angst. Crazy as it was, she wanted Mufasa and the others to find her. But at the same time she didn't. Of course she wanted the frantic worrying and pitying of the cubs over her; anyone would want that. However, the young lioness cub also wanted to be alone and she didn't want to bother her new friends.

Her mother had discoursed it to her several times in order for her to get it right. There shouldn't be any reason to bother your friends - and as a rogue, she had quickly become accustomed to that thought. Sara was born to think that one day, she'd have to take care of her mother all on her own when she was old enough; or if something were to happen she had become separate from Mantler, it was every creature for itself out in the wild. Although, despite now being in a pride and having many thoughts conflict with this teaching, Sarafina still remained very loyal to her mother's teachings.

Sarafina respected her mother's teachings properly - even if she disagreed with it. For she was very obedient and delightful.

Paw steps had triggered her ears and the very pit of her gut. Now trusting those instincts, Sara could confirm that someone was nearby. And she could taste and smell it in the air too. It was the same foul, familiar scent that drove Sarafina on edge; so powerful that it caused every strand of her fur to sharply align.

The lioness narrowed her eyes. "Taka." she spat out dryly, as if he were her mortal enemy. Fortunately he wasn't. But even if she didn't know him, he was still someone who didn't come to mind when she thought of people she liked in this pride.

As if on sync, Taka emerged from the threatening silhouette, drawing a thick layer of smoke as he stepped further into _his _den. That was correct. Sarafina had been hiding in _his _den, and she had only realised as soon as he had skeptically sauntered in.

Immediately, Sara tensed, tip-toeing from where she hid (behind a large boulder) and slowly edging towards the entrance of the den. The brown lion said nothing.

In fact, he just watched her go. His frigid viridescent orbs stalking her body while his tongue occasionally popped out to lick his dry, crusty thin lips. Taka's eyesight was crisp but clear, and he could read just where she was heading towards.

Reacting on instinct, Taka froze in his tracks and headed for the entrance. Once there, he suddenly collapsed onto his belly, laid his head on his crossed and relaxed paws peacefully. Sara didn't know what kind of game he was playing, but she didn't trust him. Actually, she had observed and studied his movements for so long to the point where the male lion had finished combing the segments of incoming black mane, rooted from his chest upwards.

"Are you just gonna stand there all day? Aren't you going up to meet the others?" he inquired, exposing the breaking of his voice, how it was becoming deeper as he aged.

Sarafina furrowed her brows and took a step forward. "You're not letting me go past actually."

Taka frowned, but the expression was quickly suppressed by a wry simper. "But I am. There's lots of space here."

"Well it's not enough!" the lioness practically yelled, her voice trembling. Whoops. She wasn't supposed to shout. On cue, her plain ears tackled themselves back. "I'm... I'm sorry. But please do move out of my way, Taka."

The older lion frantically erected to his paws as Sara edged closer. "That's all you had to say," he told her as he made way for the younger female. However, when she reached pinning-point, her ceased her from any sort of movement. Underneath Sara's chin was Taka's tail, gently roaming beneath yet preventing her from ambling on. "But I have a question for you."

She gulped.

"If you could, would you become the queen? Mufasa's queen?"

The question was slightly irking. It was bad enough the question was so personal, and now it had to associate with someone she'd probably see for the rest of her life? Not to mention, Sarafina didn't trust Taka one bit. She had learned to stay away from lions like him, but the way things had worked here kind of managed to sneak up on her and grab her from behind.

Sarafina didn't want to answer; such a simple question (to Taka) could ruin her whole reputation in the pride. And she had only been there for approximately three days. What would she do?

Then a miracle happened.

To Sarafina it was a miracle at least; it had managed to get her out of this mess. Like the strong voice she had, Sarabi intruded Scar's den under the strong impression that she didn't want Sara with him. "Sarafina! There you are!"

The lioness exhaled a breath she hadn't even realised she had held. As Sarabi abruptly sauntered past Taka, she embraced her friend in a flash. It was as if she knew Taka was playing with Sara's hormones, but whatever; she was just glad Sarabi was here to save her again.

Sarabi turned to face Taka. "Picking on her now, are you? If you're that desperate for a friend, maybe you should go and start a bond with your brother; or your mother or father."

The brown lion looked away, his expression purifying a look of both anger and shame. His growing black mane covered his emerald eyes. "Maybe you should mind your own business."

"Um... Maybe we should-"

Sarafina, unable to stop the mere argument, sighed after being interrupted by Sarabi.

"My own business? Oh please! Like you shouldn't. You should be leaving the girl alone."

"What's happened to the Pridelands? Used to be a place where you could just freely socialise with the commoners..." Taka sighed, before returning to rage mode. "You know Sarabi, why don't you just go snuggle against Mufasa, huh?! You like him, he likes you - and you're going to be a queen. You have the most perfect life!"

Sarabi's nose crinkled, and despite her fierce blush, she refrained from appearing weak in front of him. "Well why don't you go back to Zira?!"

Sarafina was now totally lost in her thoughts. The queen was right when she said Sara had a lot to learn, but she didn't want to learn these new things through arguments. She just didn't understand... Sarabi? The future queen? How could she not tell her anything about it? And the fact that her and Mufasa both liked each other... The other cubs in the pride surely expected it, however to Sarafina it came as quite a shock. Not to mention, she had to admit that she had begun to like Mufasa quite a bit too.

* * *

Mantler smiled as she caught a lioness she had recently befriended walk towards her with her female cub. It was Uru's sister. Returning the smile, Mesha labelled the empty spot beside Mantler. Together, they both looked over the horizon; observing the many silhouettes of elephants and giraffes and a band of several cubs in the distance. The cubs were to remain in the den, though the rain had stopped and the animals were beginning to head elsewhere to graze.

Mesha's young lioness cub, Bali, nestled in her paws peacefully as she was bathed.

Finally, Sarafina's mother was in a pride. And she held no shame. The Pridelands were definitely way better than her old pride; all the lionesses and males were welcoming and the cubs seemed to accept Sarafina into their group without a problem. Also, they had a lion and lioness to take on the great responsibility of caring for the entire land and not just the pride, honourable shamans that would cure injuries all over the kingdom, and a loving cresh that would care for young cubs during the hunts.

Mantler felt well - she didn't plan on leaving. She wouldn't. She didn't want to experience life as a rogue ever again, especially since her cub had found some sort of happiness here at Pride Rock. The only thing the young mother feared was how the cubs would get to know Sarafina - if their questions were too personal or if they didn't fancy her former rogue self.

However, both the mother and daughter had made friends in the pride; which weighed them down from any thoughts of leaving.

"How are you feeling today, Mantler? And how's that leg doing?" Mesha inquired politely as if she were in a good mood. Though she wasn't; something seemed to be bothering her and she didn't know what.

The other slightly older lioness sighed. "I feel good - and I haven't said that in a long time," she chuckled, "Rafiki said my leg's healing faster than he anticipated. Pretty soon I'll be able to join the hunts. What about you and Bali?"

"Oh, that'd be a delight. With the wet season ending, we need as many hunters as we could get." Mesha looked away for a moment. "Me and Bali are okay, but we're both worried about Taka. The whole pride is. He's been so distant ever since Mohatu died..."

Mantler's ears fell. "I'm sorry to hear that... I'm sure he'll come around," she smiled weakly at her friend. "Mohatu's Uru's father right? I can imagine how close they were..."

Mesha nodded. "I really hope Uru can do something to help that cub... he's becoming impossible. And I'm sure his distance has something to do with Mufasa being king also."

"I agree," came the voice of yet another lioness who joined the conversation. It was Sarabi's mother, Ishi, who took a place beside Mesha. "Taka is beginning to find himself more content when he's being independent. I guess he's just learned to stay away from everyone and to care for himself only."

"Exactly," Mesha agreed, nodding again. "That's a great concern because it's not part of being in a pride. He needs to know that he has support."

"Now if only Ahadi would be kind enough to take the cub on one of the royal lessons... He wouldn't feel so-"

"Ishi! Keep your voice down!" the chestnut coated lioness whispered forcefully at her pridemate, whilst holding her own cub's ears down. "That's nonsense! None of the other cubs get to go on lessons and Taka could play with them."

Ishi sighed, speaking a little quieter as Mesha had requested her to. "Don't forget Mesha, your cubs have your attention. Both of his parents just have no time for the poor thing. I really do hope he comes around."

Mantler nodded sadly. "I don't know what I'd do if Sarafina acted so cold towards me," she said softly. "It'd definitely be the end. It's because of her that I had the strength to continue."

The other two lionesses both looked at each other, before bowing their heads down.

"Yes... I don't know how Uru handles it, but I don't know what I'd do if Sarabi, Naanda, Dwala and Diku acted like that... Especially Diku; she's so depressed by her blindness." Ishi told her friends.

"Bali too. I'm glad she's not like that." Mesha licked her cub's head.

Mantler seemed to have some sort of interest on how Diku became permanently blind.

"I'm guessing you want to know how Diku became blind," Diku's mother noted, looking towards the horizon in disinterest. "I'll tell you."

* * *

_"Hey Diku, hurry up!"_

_The voice of her older sisters boomed loud and clear in her ears. Diku was the youngest of them all, but she still wanted to go exploring with her sisters; away from Pride Rock and all the fussing of the adult lionesses. Exploring would always beat being bathed by her mother or some other lioness, or observe the lionesses' hunts._

_Desperate, the young female lioness cub charged forward, only halting once she had caught sight of her mother's foreleg - to which she had crashed into. Ishi scooped her daughter up by the nape of her neck and placed her properly on all fours._

_"You're sure you want to go with your sisters? All alone?" asked the tanned adult lioness in a tone of concern. "You'll have to follow them and not go away from them."_

_Diku nodded with a sweet smile. "I can go, Mum. It's not a problem! I want to get to know the Pridelands."_

_Her mother sighed. "Well okay. Just stay close to them, alright? And listen to them, they've been out before." As Diku rapidly ambled towards her three waiting sisters, Ishi called out, "Be back before dusk! And don't talk to any strangers!"_

* * *

"They returned quite early; it was still hours away from dusk," Ishi informed the lionesses, a little uneasy. "I was a little surprised when I only saw the three of my daughters. They looked so shocked and so scared... I didn't know where my baby was but Sarabi had told me she had just wandered off."

Mantler and Mesha looked each other. "But you found her."

Ishi seemed saddened. "Yes but I really wish I had done something to protect her more. I found her unconscious in the bushes - a spitting cobra had spat poison in her eyes."

* * *

_"Will my daughter be alright?! Please do anything you can to-"_

_Rafiki sensed that Ishi was about to break into a wave of tears and so he wrapped his lengthy arms around her neck. "Diku will be fine; she is still alive and will still continue life as a normal cub. However, I do not think 'normal' is the correct term to use in this situation." He sighed, before informing the lioness of the very bad news. "Diku is blinded for life. The effect of the spitting cobra's venom was too strong and incurable."_

_Ishi fainted._

* * *

"Do you think Sara will be alright?" asked Mufasa as he and the rest of the cubs sauntered towards the copy. The prince looked around. "And where's Bali?"

"Bali went back to her mum," Emem quickly answered. "And as for Sarafina... I think she's okay. Sarabi has it all covered; she's the closest one to her out there."

"But I just don't get why Naanda would say such a thing..." the flaxen young prince mentioned, "Is she jealous? What did Sara do to her?"

Emem chuckled, before using her own to paws to hold the male cub down. He seemed to be very stressed, and it was unclear why. Perhaps what Dwala said before was true - Mufasa seemed to have a crush on the newcomer. And Emem wouldn't hesitate to ask or point it out, for she was a very enthusiastic and curious cub. On the verge of breaking down into hysterical bursts of laughter, she tried to interrogate him on the subject but she just couldn't bring herself to it.

Mufasa eyed as his pridemate hysterically laughed on the ground for no particular reason. "What? What is it?"

Finally catching her breath, the tanned cub replied, "You have a crush on Sara don't you?"

"What?!" Now it was Mufasa's turn to laugh... sarcastically. "AHAH THAT'S SO FUNNY! Not. I don't have a crush on her, that's stupid."

His friend, to his dismay, did seem to notice how the prince's face now flushed a red colour.

"Yeaaaah that's why you're blushing," Emem flatly pointed out. "If you don't like her then why are you getting so angry because Naanda dislikes her?"

Mufasa's eye twitched.

"I mean, she shouldn't have hurt Sara's feelings and all but I guess she has the right to dislike whoever she likes. Why are you so angry about that?" the lioness cub laughed then. "There are people who dislike Taka, me, Sarabi and the others but you don't react like that."

"Yes I have! I've confronted these types of creatures befo- argh! Nevermind Emem, you'll never understand!"

"But I do. You're in love even if you're gonna marry Sarabi." she said. "...Sorry if I find that kinda hilarious, I just have a good sense of humour!" And she was laughing again.

"That's true, Muffy. You do have a crush on the newbie, don't cha'?" Kijani seethed playfully, pinning him. "I won't lie though, she's not ugly."

Suddenly, Kijani was whacked by a lioness cub. "Hey Kijani! I'm your future mate and you never mention how beautiful I am!" Jana wheedled.

Kijani scratched the back of his head in agony - where mane had begun to sprout. Dark brown mane. "Gee, Jana! Did ya have to whack me? Okay, you're the most beautiful lioness ever, happy?"

Jana shook her hips alluringly, satisfied. "Thank you." She nudged him. "And you're the most funniest cub I've ever met." Kijani was so distracted, he almost leaned in to smooch her on the muzzle... until she jumped back and smacked his arm again. "Tag! You're it!" And that was how to kill a romantic moment.

* * *

Zira lounged above the rocks at the watering hole peacefully, regarding as the current of the water swashed several bits of trash away; mostly sticks, twigs and leaved that came from the shady trees. The lioness couldn't help but remember Naanda's request. It was taunting, but also rewarding.

* * *

_"Zira, I need you to do something for me."_

_Zira stood up to find Naanda before her with a troubled look. "What?" she inquired in a rather sharp and decisive tone._

_"You and Taka are the only lions in this pride that are friends with the hyenas; and none of the adults know that. I need you to get Sarafina in trouble with them so that the others will avoid her."_

_Zira scratched her chin, contemplating her thoughts. "Why? And what will I get out of this?"_

_Naanda rolled her eyes in irritation. "Look, just do it okay? If you do, I can get Queen Uru to betroth you to Taka. His mother and my mother are best friends."_

_The lioness seethed. "First of all, your mother doesn't like me. Second of all, they'll wonder why you'll do this for me."_

_"Well, what do you want? Something that's actually possible please."_

_Now it was Zira that was rolling her eyes. "If I do this for you, you have to promise to get Mufasa in trouble too."_

_Naanda was shocked. She almost said something, but she decided to remain quiet. "Fine, we have a deal." she sulked. _


	9. Nostalgia

A/N: Vacations yeaaaaaah !

* * *

The Lion King: Teal Eyes.

Chapter 8: Nostalgia

* * *

Night had soon taken guard of the Pridelands, and all animals forced themselves into their domes for the night. The nocturnal ravenously scavenged for any sort of leftover food in the land, for there'd none but the large buffalo herds that had leisurely begun to shift into Ahadi and Uru's territory. The wet season was at its mere end, but the lionesses of Pride Rock would persist their hunts - nothing about their hunts would change during the dry season.

It had been a few months now since Mantler and Sarafina had passed judgement in the pride; the lionesses had taken note that their pride was somewhat stronger with two more lionesses. Mantler's leg was now healing - participating in the hunting was her only desire. Though she had to take it slow.

Sarafina, Sarabi, Naanda, Zira, and the rest of the female lioness cubs were now eligible to participate in the hunts now also. Before, they'd only study and observe the lionesses' movements; but now it was time to join in. Even if this was the most dangerous of seasons, there were still creatures suitable enough for prey on for brand new huntresses. Buffalo weren't the only eatable creatures around at this time in the Pridelands: there was an excess amount of boars and antelope, okapi and rabbits. In fact, there were still some leftover zebra and wildebeest that were scattered around the land.

The rivers had dried up some, and as spring had come to an end, so did the males' times here. The lionesses were left pregnant and tired.

Speaking of pregnant, it was on that particular forenoon that the king and queen had gathered the pride to form a circle before the entrance of the kopje. Jahi and Rafiki were invited too; though they had already known of the news.

Incredible excited, Uru rubbed her head on Ahadi's shoulder blade with a large beam that seemed to catch the pride's attention. Why was she so elated this morning? Her and Ahadi seemed to be the only elated ones at the moment actually, the rest of the pride only displayed looks of exhaustion - or if not, curiosity.

"Pridelanders of Pride Rock," the golden-pelted king began to announce once he had observed all of his pride settle in, "Your queen and I have something to announce. There'll be an additional member to the Pridelands."

The lionesses gasped.

Uru took over the speech from there. "You heard correct," the chestnut-coated lioness confirmed. "I'm pregnant! In due time, we shall have a little princess to fawn over." She looked down at her stomach, then simpered brightly back to her mate.

All but one seemed welcoming to the news. Taka didn't even want to attend this boring meeting, yet he was forced by his mother's sister to visit his parents. The haggard lion was slanted against the large boulder, wearing a strong look of disinterest as he stared out into space.

Noticing her son's posture, the queen's large smile evaporated and despair managed to envelope her contentedness. She tried to reach out to him, but she seemed to be swamped with lionesses and adolescents; keen to congratulate her on the news.

"I'm glad to hear I'll have a niece!" Mesha exclaimed proudly as she nuzzled her younger sister affection.

"Congrats, Queen Uru!" Bali yelled from beneath, in unison with several other cubs her age.

Uru forced a weak smile. "T-Thank you, b-but I've-"

"Uru! I'm so happy for you!" The congratulating was not over yet. Spinning herself to face the source of the voice, she caught a glance of Ishi embracing her - an embrace to which the queen kindly repaid. However, all her intentions were to do with Taka. Uru felt herself break down as she saw Taka sauntered grimly back down to his cave. He was escaping again.

Ahadi was also being showered with congrats' from the lionesses of his pride.

Mufasa, Naanda, Sarafina and Sarabi all observed as the king and queen drowned in the cluster of lionesses. It had taken a while, but Sarabi had decided to break the silence.

"I can't believe there'll finally be a princess in the pride," the beige lioness chuckled as she turned to face Sarafina. "I mean, all we've heard of are princes."

Mufasa rolled his eyes. "We're not that bad Sarabi." He scratched his ever-growing crimson mane.

"Taka is," Sarabi pointed out as Taka's figure grew smaller and smaller. "He hasn't said a word to his parents... And that reminds me... Neither have I! Come on, let's go and congratulate the king and queen."

"I will, they're my parents." Mufasa assured her, feeling distracted. "But I have to go and get Taka first. I want him to congratulate them too. I'll be back soon."

As the prince charged off after his brother, Sarabi turned to her friend and her sister. "Well? Sara? Naanda? Let's go!"

Sarafina stuck a paw up. "A-Actually Sarabi..." Before Sara could even continue her sentence, Naanda rolled her eyes. "Sarabi let's just go. She obviously just wants to run after her crush." she quickly said.

Sarafina's face flushed. "What? No that's not it at all! I need to apologise t-to T-Taka because-"

Sarabi smirked. "Go on Sarafina. We'll meet you back here."

* * *

Mantler decided to escape from the large crowd that still surrounded the royal couple. She had been advised from Rafiki from remaining in large crowds. After all, Mantler now lived with the king and queen! She could congratulate them afterwards. Instead, the lioness shifted her gaze towards the open Pridelands; full of nutrition and fresh green turf, several clean waterholes with animals that had gotten along perfectly at most times.

Her old pride was never like that.

While her home lands did hold a stability of having the fifth most clean water, food was scarce. Herds rarely passed by, and when they did, every animal would take an opportunity to hunt. There'd be nearly nothing left which was why the herds had stopped migrating to that specific area.

The king, unlike that of the Pridelands, boasted several mates and cubs - all cubs belonged to him. Not to mention, any offspring that wasn't his or the future king's would be killed. And that was a reason why Mantler couldn't stay; Sarafina's life would be ripped from her right from the moment she was presented.

And finally, all female offspring of the king had to be betrothed in order to confirm the continuation of his generation.

Mantler realised she should've left earlier. Life was terrible back there.

Fortunately, her old land was quite distant.

"What are you doing out here Mantler?" inquired the familiar voice ever, causing Mantler's ears to twitch.

"Why do you always ask me the same question?" the female snapped back, "Rafiki said I should avoid large crowds because of my healing leg. What are you doing here?"

Jahi sighed. "I just wanted a moment to think," he told her. "I'm glad the king and queen are having a cub but I don't think it'll be any better for Taka."

Mantler cocked a brow. "Oh?" Suddenly, she remembered something.

...

_Ishi sighed, speaking a little quieter as Mesha had requested her to. "Don't forget Mesha, your cubs have attention. Both of his parents just have no time for the poor thing. I really do hope he comes around."_

_Mantler nodded sadly. "I don't know what I'd do if Sarafina acted so cold towards me."_

_..._

The male lion had only begun to elaborate on his point once Mantler had snapped back into reality. Jahi seemed to wear a heavy expression of concentration, as if whatever he was about to say was tragic. He shifted his paws uncomfortably.

"Taka's been rejected by Ahadi ever since he was born. Nobody blamed him for not wanting Taka as a king- we all knew it and accepted it. He was too weak to be a king. But Uru managed the change the way Ahadi had treated his son. He started acting more friendlier to Taka. Of course he loved him, but he seemed to have give Mufasa more attention all along," he began.

"Taka was left to weep in the shadows of his brother and fathers' silhouettes. Uru tried to do everything she could to comfort him, but nothing worked. Although, Taka was actually really close to Uru's father, Mohatu. Mohatu loved both Mufasa and Taka equally, but Taka seemed to spend more time with him. When Mohatu died, Taka had nobody to be with. He felt his family neglected him."

"Well it seems like Taka neglects them now," Mantler added.

Jahi looked back at Mantler. "You can't really blame Taka. But neither can you blame Mufasa or Uru and Ahadi."

"How so?"

"After Mohatu died, Mufasa became the future king. It wasn't really a surprise and at first, Taka didn't mind it because Mohatu had assured him that his family would love them both equally. But things started to change when Ahadi had to steal Mufasa away from Taka from his lessons..."

...

_"Now if only Ahadi would be kind enough to take the cub on one of the royal lessons... He wouldn't feel so-"_

_"Ishi! Keep your voice down!"_

...

"Others argue Taka could play with the other cubs. But Rafiki and I could see the others didn't really like him. Uru would always comfort Taka, but most of the time she had to go hunting. Taka was left alone again. Only the kings know what he does during the day now. And another cub to shower over attention with? Taka'd feel worse."

Mantler's heart broke. "So the lionesses are oblivious to this disliking?"

Jahi nodded.

"Well how come you don't do anything?" the lioness was promptly, but slightly, irritated by the ignorance some held for the poor cub. "You know all this stuff; and you know a voice could make a change."

The male lion shook his head. "Mantler it's not that simple," he told her. "And it's not our business to get involved in their problems."

Her nose crinkled into a snarl. "I'd expect that from you. It's not your business to care for your own cubs either." she remarked as she ambled away. "I'm going to try and make a change."

Jahi wouldn't stand the sass any longer. And he also knew that sooner or later she'd be back begging for his forgiveness. Immediately after she started to walk away from him, he pounced on the spot before her, ceasing her from any sort of movement. "It's really not our problem. Especially since you're quite new here- you can't just walk into the pride and start demanding everyone takes care of a cub that doesn't want to be involved in the pride."

Mantler remained quiet.

"Don't you see? We've all tried to get along with Taka. Uru's tried her hardest. If he won't even accept her, why would he accept you or me?" Jahi's gaze softened. "And about that... I can't go back to my cubs."

"Why not?"

"Because they probably decided they don't like me. It's because of me their mother's dead, and the pride won't accept me back either." he said. "You could go back, Sara's over a year old. But why don't you?"

Mantler nearly answered, though in order to illustrate the rhetorical factor in the question, Jahi quickly proceeded.

"-Exactly. You've found a new life here. And so have I."

"Fine, you win. I'm sorry," the lioness declared apologetically. "I feel so useless; and I know what it's like to feel alone. Everyone's hopeless here." She walked away.

Although she'd been stopped for the second time in her ambling. This time it was by the king's majordomo, Zuzu. The purple winged creature with a bright yellow beak stood in Mantler's way, staring with her large beady black eyes and smiling softly. Politely, the bird bowed.

"Sorry to disturb you," she started, "but King Ahadi told me to fetch you. There's someone at the border waiting for you."

Jahi and Mantler eyed each other suspiciously.

* * *

Mufasa had jolted enough to reach his brother seconds after he had entered the den. The prince stood with a stern look; but his brother didn't seem to notice. Ignorant as he always was, Taka stretched in order to relieve his body from the pain of standing for several minutes for a pure waste of time- or at least, that was what he seemed to think.

Mufasa's gaze was still focused on his brother as he shifted in closer, only narrowing his eyes and tightening the tension between the two. "Taka, you haven't congratulated Mother and Father yet," the golden lion noted, "Let's go do it now."

The younger lion didn't cease from gnawing on his bone. "Esscusee you bud I don't nee- ta' congrajulate anehbodeh!"

His older brother flickered his ears. "Stop chewing on that bone so we can talk properly, Taka! This is important!"

Taka sighed, and finally refrained from chewing the bone as Mufasa had asked. He stared up at Mufasa, his emerald eyes wary and unsure of anything his brother was to say. "I'm not obliged to see Mother and Father. I attended their oh-so-special meeting! Isn't that enough from me? You should all be grateful considering the fact that I haven't attended any meetings in months!"

"Don't talk like that Taka!" Mufasa shouted, pinning his ears. "We're going to have a sister! Can you not even show the tiniest bit of happiness? Can't you? You're not going to be the only one in our family that won't be the future king or queen. Even Zira's gone to-"

"I don't care about Zira!" Taka interjected, standing up. But he relaxed after a few seconds, and spoke with a little more control. "The new cub will cause nothing but more distance between me and you all. Everyone will be fawning over her because she's the first princess we've had since Father has become king- just like Mother mentioned! And those lionesses will be drawling all over you again... because you're just... so... perfect."

"Mufasa! Mufasa!"

The conversation was interrupted when a rather beautiful looking lioness suddenly charged into the cave.

"Sarafina? What's wrong?" Mufasa asked the lioness with some concern, frowning.

Sarafina blushed. "No, it's nothing. I just needed to tag along," she told him, motioning to Taka who stared at her with an unreadable expression. She approached Taka. "Taka, your parents are looking all over for you."

Taka looked away and rolled his eyes. Obviously, Sarafina felt much more in control and braver talking to Taka whilst Mufasa was in the den. She knew Mufasa would come to her aid if something were wrong.

"All the queen wears is a look of despondency. Please go and see her Taka."

The lion remained still and quiet.

Mufasa sighed. "Nevermind Sarafina. He won't budge," he finally persisted, "we'll just go and see the king and queen alone."

* * *

"Mantler, Jahi - we're glad you could make it," Ahadi acknowledged as he approached the incoming lions. He turned to face his majordomo, Zuzu, who was roaming gently above him. "Thanks for your help, Zuzu. You're dismissed."

"We wouldn't miss it for anything, your majesty," Mantler smiled, bowing. "And congratulations to you and Uru for the expecting." Uru and Ahadi simpered.

The flaxen king proceeded to informing Mantler of the news. "There's a lion waiting at the border claiming he knows you," he mentioned. "Zuzu and I thought it could be someone from your old pride that you knew - but we weren't completely sure. We didn't allow him to enter because he could be lying."

"He told us he was the king of a particular pride down by the river," Uru added. "Do you know anyone with a sort of pale fur, blue eyes and auburn mane? He seems to know you."

Mantler gasped. _Could it be..?_

"Can you please take me to this lion?" she asked politely. "I think I know him."

It had only taken a few minutes for Ahadi to lead Mantler and Jahi, who had insisted on tagging along, towards the border. Uru had decided to stay at Pride Rock with the lionesses and cubs; meeting new lions were far too dangerous for her in her condition. She was quite vulnerable even if her mate, shaman and friend were there.

Finally, Ahadi, Mantler and Jahi crossed the river to Zuzu and two patrol lionesses that firmly guarded the unfamiliar male. As the male came into Mantler's view, she couldn't help but cry. She knew who she was, but it'd been so long. Too long. How ever did he find them in this territory?

His eyes remained the same as she had known them as; cerulean, unjaded and clear. These were the eyes that had belonged to Mantler's mate; Tai.

Immediately, the sobbing lioness dashed up towards who was once her mate, knocking him over with her strong embrace. He seemed to recognise her too, for he had wrapped his arms around her too.

Ahadi and the other lionesses watched in awe as the two lovers finally reunited, before the king had decided to give them time to themselves. He ambled over towards the patrol lionesses and to Zuzu, "Let's leave them be. Return to Pride Rock." Ahadi spun to face Jahi, who wore a rather grimacing expression. "Jahi, you're welcome to return to Pride Rock too."

Jahi sighed, knowing it was best to leave the lovers alone. He tagged along with the rest of the group and they returned to Pride Rock.

Meanwhile Mantler and Tai were still recovering from their tight embrace.

Panting from all the strength Tai had used to squeeze her, Mantler still managed to beam at her mate and speak. "You're still here and alive! I thought I'd lost you! How did you find us?!"

Tai wore a smirk. "One of the lionesses had informed that she noticed a lioness and a female cub enter the land. But by the time I went to investigate, they were gone. She described them though, and said they entered the neighbouring pride - the Pridelands. I knew it was you."

Mantler nuzzled him, "It's been so hard without you! And I missed you so much... Where were you?" She motioned for him to sit on the grass with her. And he did.

"After you told me you were pregnant, I just didn't know how to react. I mean, soon I'd have to leave to start a pride and like you, I was betrothed-"

"But we could've left together, and escaped it all. I just didn't see you anymore even if I went where we usually met," the lioness sighed. "We should've left that night..."

Tai sighed too. "I know. But I couldn't abandon everything and go. Everyone treated me so well in my pride; I didn't want to repay them like that. Soon afterwards, I stopped meeting you because there was so much going on in the pride. My father wanted me and my betrothed married before I left and he decided that on the day before I turned two, me and her would get married and leave.

"But you know, I just couldn't get married at that stage. I was still in love with you. So on one night, I left to meet you but you weren't there. I thought you'd forgotten me... or given up on me. So I headed out of our territories and towards another place. As an outcast. I bumped into this injured lioness and I helped her. She thought she'd be safe with me so we both left."

"Is she still with you now?" asked Mantler curiously.

Tai nodded. "Yes. After we left, we found this land of lionesses. They claimed their male had been chased off by another, but they managed to kill him. It took several months to convince them, but they finally trusted me enough to accept me as their ruler. It's been six months since I've been their king- and my mate and I-"

"Your mate..?" It was then that Mantler's world shattered. She collapsed into a laying position, her eyes glowing with tears, and her gaze laid softly on a sulking Tai. "I thought... I didn't know you'd gotten over me so quickly."

"Like I said, I thought you'd forgotten me!"

"How would you know?" the lioness sharply yelled, standing up. "It's not like you just took off! We shared something on that last night!"

"Well how was I supposed to know? You weren't there when I appeared so I just left! It's not like we were meant to be anyway, we wouldn't meet again and that's why we shared that moment," Tai bit his lip. "Call it moving on."

"If forgetting me is your definition of moving on, then just don't even call what we had love! I had your cub, and I only dreamed of finding you when I left!"

The male narrowed his eyes. "My cub? Where is she?"

"Why do you care? I bet you and your mate are expecting a new litter of cubs aren't you? You wouldn't care for me or Sarafina - you've 'moved on'."

"Listen Mantler, I'm sorry things have become this way," he soothed, holding her paw. "We haven't seen each other for nearly four years. I'm a lion- we age to find a pride and care for it. I didn't know I'd see you again. If I'd known, it'd be you I'd choose as a mate. And I did think about you a lot during those times."

"I'm glad, but I just wish we could be together again," Mantler confessed. "Perhaps Sarafina can meet you one of these days."

Tai smiled. "I'd like to meet her too. I bet she's as gorgeous as her mother."

* * *

Zira ambled into what was a barren and foul land; the complete opposite to the Pridelands. The Outlands boasted no water or grass- not even any herds of such. The only thing it had boasted was a vicious clan of hyenas who'd stop at nothing to earn food or water. They tolerated no lions in the territory. Both Zira and Scar seemed to be the only exception as they had brought food every time they had visited.

The hyenas were lucky enough to even encounter a very tiny antelope on their land, which would only serve a hyena or two.

Slowly, Zira crept further into the Outlands and cautiously approached Zuraya- the leader of the clan. The lioness stared up at the old clan leader, who's mane streaked white and grey lines and whose eyes were rimmed with bags and red. She smiled weakly at the young lioness.

"Back so soon Zira?"

Zira nodded. "With food of course," she said, tossing her a large chunk of zebra meat. "I managed to slip away from my hunting lessons again but I need your help with something."

Zuraya held the meat with her paw. "In return for the food, me and my clan will help you."

"Well there's this particular new lioness in the pride... and I need to get her in trouble," the lioness mentioned. "I was thinking that I could lure her here... and just ditch her and fetch for help to get her in trouble but I need you and your clan's support."

"An' what're we suppose' to do, eh, Zira?" Another younger female hyena appeared with two males behind her. "'Cuz if you're plannin' to get us caught, don't count on it!"

"Quiet, Shenzi!" Zuraya barked, raising her paw as a threat. "You'll do as I say!"

Shenzi pinned her ears, glaring back at the matriarch with a grimace. "Jus' statin' the truth..."

"But what will we do Zira? Anything but get caught," the matriarch agreed, "That Ahadi's too ferocious for the likes of us."

"You won't get caught," Zira confirmed sternly. "I was hoping you could chase her into a ditch or something... so she won't escape."

"Now that's somethin' we can do," Shenzi mused, lowering her eyelids. The two males beside her barked happily.

"When do you plan to bring her here?"

"Tonight maybe... or tomorrow. I'll give you all a signal when I do!"


	10. Fallacious Beliefs

A/N: Finally we've come to the more exciting part(s) of this story :D Something's bound to happen now, mwahaha :D

* * *

The Lion King: Teal Eyes.

Chapter 9: Fallacious Beliefs.

* * *

The following night had arrived particularly slow for Zira. Mostly because she had done nothing that day but wait for the right moment to drag Sarafina away from Pride Rock. She hoped the lioness wasn't asleep already or something, this would totally ruin the plan! Leisurely, Zira crept over the rocks layered on the copy towards the entrance of the den- to where the moon had gently illuminated its light. The lioness had waited deep through the night for the right moment; but Sarafina didn't seem like the type to sleep early.

And she wasn't.

Finally Zira had gotten a glimpse of Sarafina sat on the promontory...talking to herself..? The lioness was that lonely to talk to herself even at the age of what would be nearly two years? Zira tried not to laugh. Instead, she pinched her lips tightly in order to not make any sort of sound, writhing closer towards Sarafina. But as her perspective shifted, she noticed Sara was not by herself. They stared at the moon and talked, and occasionally laughed. Sara and the prince? Zira had no idea they'd be together...Were they a couple or something? Whatever, she couldn't wait around for Mufasa to, very unlikely right now, leave Sara alone in order for her to go and snatch the lioness. Whatever the cost, she had to take Sarafina at this moment.

Zira coughed to make her presence known, dragging the attention of both the prince and the khaki-coloured lioness. They both stared at her with a skeptical smile, then back to each other with a relatively strong blush. Zira's brows furrowed.

"What are you doing out here so late with the prince?" the lioness asked, edging closer towards Sarafina. "We all knew Mufasa was nocturnal but now you too? Great..."

Despite her expression of irritation, Sarafina stuttered. "N-nothing. I just couldn't sleep- I've already told you I don't like to sleep!"

"Sure you don't..." Zira nodded in a faked disbelief, knowing that Sara wasn't the type to sleep either.

Mufasa stepped forward, a strong blush still abroad his muzzle. "What are you doing anyway, Zira? Why are you up so late?"

The addressed lioness sighed dramatically, stretching and inspecting her claws before she spoke in a rather lazy tone. "Oh Mufasa you don't know me at all," she reminded him. "It's not like you follow me all day or know what I like and don't like to do... I hate sleeping in the den. And I prefer to sleep out underneath the baking sun."

Sarafina rolled her eyes. "So we're all nocturnal then."

"Speaking of," Zira began, moving even closer towards the lioness, "I need to borrow you for a moment. Excuse us, Mufasa." She grabbed Sarafina's paw, ready to drag her around like she always had.

"Actually I wasn't done speaking with Mufasa!" Sara cried out loud, furrowing her eyebrows angrily. "And I won't let you drag me around like-"

"What did you say?!" Zira growled threateningly, prepared to rip her throat out if she needed to.

Mufasa looked around worriedly. "Guys! Keep your voices down!"

"That should be the least of your concerns," said the tanned-beige lioness in a deep voice. "But I need to borrow Sarafina. We won't be long."

"Then I'm coming too."

"NO! It's a girl talk!"

Sarafina released a breath she hadn't even realised she'd been holding. "Okay Zira, I'll go with you alone. But we must return to Pride Rock soon and we can't go too far."

Zira smirked. "Excellent. Let's go!"

* * *

It had been at least five minutes that Zira and Sarafina trailed across the grassy turf of the Pridelands. Sarafina barely listened to what the other lioness was blabbering about- she was sure it was nonsense anyway. Her concerns were more relative to Mufasa's, who was awaiting for her return in a short amount of time. But even so, Zira had managed to follow through a part of her plan and lure Sara towards the border.

Once they had arrived, the creamy lioness snapped out of her thoughts.

"Zira, why are we at the border?" she asked tiredly. "Can we not just return? Haven't you already said everything you wanted to tell me?"

"No," Zira told her sharply. "I'm not done yet. Plus, there's something I need to show you, come on."

Sarafina didn't particularly feel comfortable being led by a cub (that certainly disliked her now) into the dangers of the Outlands alone at night- with no adult, Sarabi or Mufasa or any of the other cubs. And Zira had been talking for a particularly long time.

"So while we're still going there..." the lioness had begun yet again her boring conversations, "What was it that you and Mufasa were talking about?"

Sara gulped. "And why is it that you need to know?" she asked with a little more courage.

"It's nothing, I'm just wondering." replied Zira softly. "It seems you have feelings for each other."

"It's really that obvious?!" As soon as she had realised the most embarrassing mistake she had committed, she muzzled herself with her paw. By then, Zira had stopped ambling and stared at the lioness with the most unusual expression- it was as if Sara had grown two heads!

"Well you've already hinted it so you might as well tell me," Zira edged.

Sarafina sighed. "If you promise not to tell anybody...well..." she was slightly hesitant to start. "Me and Mufasa both couldn't sleep tonight...I had come out to peer at the stars like I always had before we arrived in the Pridelands. A-and Mufasa had come out- it turned out he couldn't sleep too..."

...

_"Can't sleep?" Mufasa inquired casually as he approached the dazed lioness. _

_Sarafina stared at him in an uncomfortably shy manner, blushing and shifting her paws as she allowed him to sit beside her. "No... Not something rare though. I barely got enough sleep before I came here."_

_"Why not?" asked the prince, intrigued. "I-I mean... Nevermind, I can't sleep much either."_

_The lioness stared at him in awe. "A-actually Mufasa? There's something I need to tell you," she announced, turning to face him properly, "and it's something I haven't told to anybody else because I'm just so afraid of telling them."_

_Once Mufasa stared at her, she continued. "I was a rogue," she confessed. The words easily slipped out of her mouth, as if she had no trouble at all. When actually, on the inside, as the silence had enveloped them both for several minutes, she mentally stabbed herself for every seconds of silence. The tension was intolerable; she wanted him to say something but she was so afraid of his reaction. So petrified of rejection. _

_After all, he could rat the news out to the others. And they'd hate Sarafina for who she used to be._

_Though now, he'd considered breaking the silence. "That's not bad. Why're you so afraid?"_

_Sara wanted to cry. Not only had she ridiculously been overthinking things, but she had made herself a complete fool and coward in front of the prince! Could she be anymore stupid? _

_The lioness shook her head. "It is bad," she argued back gently. "Rogues are known to be vicious and brutal killers. If I tell everyone that... they'll hate me for who I used to be even if I never killed anyone before."_

_Mufasa nuzzled her tenderly, smiling at her. "Don't be ridiculous Sara- of course you're not a killer! And you're the most friendliest prettiest lioness I've ever-"_

_He stopped mid-sentence, and they both blushed fiercely. _

_"T-that's... you mean that?"_

_Mufasa's eyebrows furrowed in what Sarafina seemed to think of as a sort of cute anger or embarrassment. The prince scratched the back of his head skeptically._

_Sara smiled sweetly. "This sounds stupid but... I like you too."_

...

"And from there, I guess we made a commitment to each other," Sara concluded as they finally finished crossing the borders of the Pridelands.

Zira smirked. This was an excellent way of getting Mufasa into trouble- and Naanda was certain to do all the dirty work for her. Sarafina was dating Prince Mufasa- who was already affianced to the Princess Sarabi, behind the kingdom's back? This was just too much of an opportunity to slip. Mufasa'd be in trouble soon enough.

"What's so funny, Zira? Something I said?"

"What!" The lioness was startled, and her sudden outburst seemed to have let Sara a little suspicious. "Oh! Nothing, nothing! I was just excited of that thing I was gonna show you. It's right there. Behind that rock," she told her rather briefly. "Wait here!"

And so Sara sat on her haunches while Zira slipped behind the rock.

"You took your time." Shenzi muttered once Zira had slipped towards her, Zuraya and some other hyenas.

Zira rolled her eyes. "It took me quite an effort. Especially since her boyfriend - Prince Mufasa - won't let her out of his sight for even a second!"

"THE PRINCE IS HER BOYFRIEND?!" the hyenas all shrieked in unison, only to be silenced by Zira who released a veracious roar.

"Just do what you have to do to get her stuck in that ditch!"

"Well ain't this gonna be fun... C'mon, you mutts!" Zuraya barked, leading a small clan of hyenas towards where Sara was standing.

* * *

The African wildlife went on, dawn nearing every second that went by. Mufasa was too stubborn to enter the den- he didn't trust Zira at all, especially with his girlfriend. Why was she so eager to speak to Sara now anyway? They'd had a brief, but unnecessary, parting for some days now. And it was mostly Zira's fault. What did Zira see in Sarafina that she didn't see in the others?

Soon, the prince grew tired of sitting on his haunches and decided to lay down. But he wouldn't sleep until Sara and Zira returned in one piece. And he wouldn't hesitate to go out looking for them either. He cared far too much for Sara, and was slightly intrigued in what took Zira this long to talk to her. And it wasn't only him who'd be worried for Sara's safety. Mantler, Sara's mother, would be absolutely petrified of losing her only daughter and failing second time as a mother.

The rest of the lionesses and cubs would also become anxious to the female lioness' disappearance. Zira's mother, Maisha, and the king and queen (believe it or not), would be concerned for Zira also.

"Mufasa?" it was undoubtedly the gentle voice of Mufasa's mother, Uru, who was currently pregnant with the third heir to the throne. She didn't wait for Mufasa to acknowledge her for her to approach him. Cautiously, she stole a seat beside her clearly worn out son. "What are you doing out here?"

At his mother's presence, the golden cub sat up- but couldn't help slouching. "Oh, it's nothing," he replied in a forced jolly tone, though it was laced with some sort of exhaustion. He was elated this night; he had finally taken a commitment to Sarafina, and he wouldn't let her down. Although, the day had been for too much for him. Not to mention, he didn't want to risk getting Sarafina in trouble. He'd keep their absence a secret for now.

The queen sighed sadly. "You know, if there's ever something you need to talk about, I'm here," she reminded him as if he had completely forgotten that. And in a way, he had. Mufasa had been so focused on trying to be the perfect son, to not bother his pregnant mother or his busy father, concentrate on his lessons and bond with his friends.

It was almost as if he purposely avoided her.

Mufasa shrugged. "I know that," he lied. He moved closer to her, remembering that she was his mother and not his pridemate. Princes still needed some sort of affection too. She nuzzled him in return, a fake smile laid out on her muzzle.

"Something's wrong, Mother? Is it the cub? Shall I get-"

"No Mufasa," Uru quickly hushed her son, chuckling slightly. "The cub's fine. But actually, she's the reason I can't sleep. It's only been a few days, but I can't even find a position to sleep."

Mufasa didn't know what to say. He didn't know much about this stuff anyway. So he nodded. "So what's bothering you?"

His mother sighed again, with less effort. "It's Taka," said Uru. "He's been so distant, I'm worried. It's been going on for ages... And I know you've tried your hardest to get along with him, but we're all starting to feel like it's impossible."

Mufasa held her, detecting her incoming tears. Her emotion was something that angered him. Not her in particular, but the reason for it: Taka. Taka hadn't known how much pain he had caused his family and the pride, and Uru seemed to have been absorbing the most pain out of all the them. And for her pregnancy, this anxiety wasn't something positive.

"By the time the cub arrives, Taka will begin to warm up to us again," Mufasa assured with a smile, feeling a little despondent himself. "He won't be the only one with no authority over the throne."

"But that's not it. None of the other cubs have authority over the throne. I don't understand!" she almost shouted, but Mufasa's comfort suppressed this action. "A throne is nothing without family and friends. He should be happy he's even in a pride."

At that moment, Mufasa remembered how Sarafina had notified him of her old life- being a rogue was definitely not easy for her. Perhaps Taka would need some more gratitude.

"Don't worry, Mufasa," Uru said, breaking the silence. "It's not your fault. We've all tried our hardest with that lion. Well, I'm going to try and sleep again. Pray to the stars your brother changes- for all our sakes."

Her son nuzzled her goodnight, before she edged her way back into the cave beside a sleeping Ahadi. Ahadi gave his mate lot of attention. But the queen seemed mentally distant from her pride and family. Taka was edging her deeper into stages of depression, and sooner or later if this continued, the queen would end up just like her son: dejected. Distant. Away from everyone, and a cold heartless being.

The thought simply caused Mufasa to shiver. He couldn't let his mother fall into Taka's trap, and Taka was going to have to change in order for the pride to move on happily.

Suddenly, Mufasa caught a glimpse of a small silhouette. The silhouette crept cautiously, ceasing on occasion and peering around, before scurrying on again. Just like a mouse. It was visibly tiny, but that was only because it was far. Not too far though, Mufasa could catch it. Maybe it could be a reward for himself, or a new commitment gift to Sarafina. It would be a start of the new relationship.

Quietly, the prince stalked. He neared the silhouette with a fair amount of patience. It was only then that he had begun to realize that the silhouette wasn't a snack, but he'd already pounced on it. Everything was black for a while, and once the prince's jaded eyes slid open, he was a little vexed to find that what he had encountered wasn't a snack.

"Get off of me, you fool!" It was Zira. Of course it was her. Nobody else would react in such a way towards the prince. Not even Taka. But... Where on earth was Sarafina?

Ignoring Zira's pleas for help, Mufasa scanned the area with his amber eyes- whilst still holding Zira down. His girlfriend was nowhere in sight. He allowed his anxiety to bring him down for a second, and Zira had taken the opportunity to kick her opponent off of her. The prince hadn't even properly subsided, and he was already on his paws again.

"Where's Sara! You told me you wouldn't be long, but you took _years!_" Suddenly, Mufasa's adrenaline pressured him to the point where he was choking the adolescent lioness beneath him. "Then you have the nerve to return without her! What do you have to say for yourself?!"

Zira closed her eyes. _Remember the plan, Zira, remember the plan!_

"What I have to say is that Sara's in trouble," she replied calmly.

"What?! Where is she now?!"

"She ran towards the Outlands!" the lioness said, tensing herself and making herself look more like a panicked lioness. "I told her to wait, but then she said she wanted to prove how strong she was and how she could defend herself! She went to pick on some hyenas..."

Mufasa gasped, immediately dashing down the kopje. "I'll go look for her! If things get scary, go get my mother!"

* * *

"Where's Zira?" Sarafina yawned after moments of Zira having slipped behind the rock. It was awfully suspicious of her to randomly disappear behind there and not return. The breeze was beginning to pick up a little, the moon dominating the lands. As a lioness cub that was only one, Sarafina was extremely vulnerable alone in unfamiliar territory. Had she known of Zira's plan, she wouldn't of come at all. But Sara was often naive and curious. She needed to know what Zira wanted to say.

Shivering, the lioness cub stood up and scanned the land. "Zira?..."

Out of the blue, a fairly small hyena with three strands of hair looming out over her face popped up, lunging for Sarafina. However, with experience as a rogue, Sara managed to dodge the attack. Out in the wild, you always had to stay cautious for lurking predators and their attacks.

She gasped in fear as Zuraya's minions revealed themselves, drooling excitedly for some late night drama.

"Stay back! I'm warning you...!"

Ed's fangs were a claw-length away from biting off her feet. She swiped at him, sending him across the grass and managed to slip away for a moment as his companions fawned over him. He was covered in some bruises, but not severely injured.

Whilst the others aided their fallen clan-mate, Sarafina was being chased by Shenzi and Zuraya. The two hyenas appeared so vicious, it was as if they were competing against killing Sarafina first, but that wasn't going to happen.

Hot, salty tears began to trick down Sara's somewhat petrified face as she ran from them. Just as they gained on her, she fell.

Everything was dark.

But once Sara manged to lift her head up, she could see the blue-purple night sky and the moon that seemed to be controlling the night. She then realised she had fallen in a ditch - though she didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"You're trapped, little kitty!" Zuraya leaned down and screeched, before turning the other way and ambling away from the ditch. "And there's no escape.."

"Let her go!"

Everyone froze; Sara's ears perking up. She recalled such a voice - the voice that belonged to her favourite lion in the entire kingdom. Instantly she smiled, and gained the determination to climb out of the ditch. "Mufasa!"She unsheathed her claws. They worked like hooks, clinging to the earth as Sara writhed her way up.

Shenzi and Banzai, who were beside each other at the moment, spun their heads immediately. Their hostility said all - they didn't need any more company.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" Banzai shouted, edging closer to the prince. "You weren't part of the-"

Shenzi slapped her paw over his mouth, glaring at him. "Isn't it obvious? He's come after that little girl in the ditch! The numbskull..."

"Well let's show him what forth!" Zuraya barked, triggering a whole handful of hyenas to attack Mufasa.

The prince tried his hardest to fend the brutes off to rescue Sarafina, but one against four wasn't exactly a fair fight. As he rammed his claws into one of the hyenas, another hyena bit down his rear, causing him to utter a roar of agony. "Sara!"

His cry of agony so loud it propelled a great strength in Sarafina, causing her to pounce out of the ditch to rescue her boyfriend. As she mindlessly joined the fight, she could apprehend the paw steps of more than one. From the direction of the Pridelands came Ahadi, Jahi, Mantler, Rafiki and two lionesses. King Ahadi ran straight for Zuraya, pinning her with incomparable hostility.

Mantler and the two lionesses dived into Mufasa and Sarafina's battle, causing the hyenas to scatter and retreat, whilst Jahi and Rafiki fended off any other surrounding hyenas - that immediately fled at their sight.

"It's a crime that you've committed, Zuraya!" Ahadi yelled at the top of his lungs, gaining the attention of everyone else. "An unforgivable one! You attacked my son, the prince, and a pride member!"

Zuraya's powerful gaze pierced through Ahadi's. She was still under him, but she could very well do damage if she wanted to. "They're on _my _land! I shall do with them as I please!" she countered. "Besides, if it wasn't for that stinky little brat causing trouble here...!"

"Hey! I did nothing at all!" Sara defended from beside Mufasa and Mantler. "They attacked me!"

Ahadi craned his head to glance at Sarafina, who looked extremely irked and then back at Zuraya, who seemed even more irked.

"Let's go home," he demanded, turning back to the others. "Mark my words, Zuraya, if anything happens again, there will be consequences."

He and the other adults led the way to Pride Rock. Jahi and Rafiki broke off half way to head off to the baobab tree, while Ahadi, Mantler and the two pride lionesses led Sarafina and Mufasa home. Both of the adolescents couldn't tell whether their parents were blazing with fury at them or not. But it was most likely, and soon obvious when they reached the cave's entrance.

Ahadi simply ambled past Mufasa, expressionless and without a single word. Mufasa sauntered in dejectedly after him. Mantler only glared at her daughter, before following the royals inside the den.

"Even when I do nothing, I cause trouble," Sara whispered, glancing over at Zira who still forced on a fake expression of shock. Sarafina scowled at her before proceeding to the den as well.

There was only just a crack of dawn. And while that day was simply awful for Sara, so would the next day be.

Gossip found its way easily across the Pridelands and the pride. Sara had no doubts that the other cubs would find out about the incident and simply blame her for getting the prince in trouble, and believe Zira's lie that Sarafina wanted to brag about how powerful she was- even if the cubs already knew how tough Sarafina could be. Everyone would hate her all over again.

Naanda and Zira would make sure of that.


End file.

Lion King, Hurt-Comfort, Romance