"The Pride That Never Was"

[divsalley]

Alright... I've just got one thing to say... THIS IS AWESEOME! Great adaptation of Simba's Pride! Looking forward to reading the rest of this fanfic!

[ograndebatata]

Well, Shani doesn't seem as clumsy as Kiara, I must say. At least, she managed to get away from the fire by her own paws.

Chaka makes a great big brother figure... and if a Kovu trained to be an assassin thinks he makes things harder, then Chaka must be really something, I guess.

And about Timira... well, I may be wrong, but I already have a hunch about what happened to her. I won't share it for now, though... I'll only share it after you reveal what happened to her. Please don't take this as blackmail - because I don't want to know before time.

[Akril]

[quote="ograndebatata"]Well, Shani doesn't seem as clumsy as Kiara, I must say. At least, she managed to get away from the fire by her own paws.[/quote]
Yeah, I didn't make Shani that much of a ditz, but still I wanted her personality to resemble Kiara's to some extent.

[quote]And about Timira... well, I may be wrong, but I already have a hunch about what happened to her. I won't share it for now, though... I'll only share it after you reveal what happened to her. Please don't take this as blackmail - because I don't want to know before time.[/quote]
Okay, I'm trusting you to keep mum until then. : )




Chapter Ten:


The air was choked with dust and filled with the deafening rumble of thousands of hooves. Simba was standing on a narrow rock ledge many feet above the ground, confused and terrified. Then he heard a voice calling to him over the thundering cacophony -- a voice he hadn't heard for many years.

"Simba! Simba! Help me!"

Simba looked around wildly, and to his horror, he saw his father, Mufasa, clinging to the rock wall several feet below him. Far below him, hundreds of wildebeest thundered by, their eyes glowing a savage red.

"Father!" Simba screamed.

He reached towards Mufasa with his right forepaw, trying to grab onto him. Suddenly, a chilling laugh came from behind Simba. Simba turned and shuddered. Scar was standing on a ledge above them, laughing maniacally.

Tearing his eyes away from the terrifying specter of his uncle, Simba again tried to reach his father. If he just reached a little farther, perhaps he could save him...just a little farther...

There was suddenly a stinging pain in Simba's left foreleg. Simba turned to see that Scar had grabbed it with his claws, and he was the one who had just spoken. His green eyes glowed menacingly as he grinned down at Simba.

"Trust me," he hissed.

Simba heard his father calling to him again. He whirled around, but it was too late. Mufasa had slipped out of reach, and was now falling into the stampede. It was just like it had happened all those years ago. Mufasa had died before Simba's eyes, and was all because of Scar...Scar, who still had his claws digging into Simba's leg, and was still laughing...

Simba angrily turned to face Scar, ready to fight him as he had when he returned to Pride Rock. Then, before his eyes, Scar's face changed...into Kovu's. Simba stared in horror at the madly laughing lion with the scar over his left eye, too terrified to react. Then Kovu grinned and flung Simba off of the ledge. Simba fell screaming into the massive torrent of tearing horns and slashing hooves, but just before he hit the ground, he awoke with a start.

He glanced around, trying to get his bearings. He was in the main cave of Pride Rock, with Nala at his side and Chaka and Shani sleeping nearby. Kovu was nowhere to be seen, for Simba, still not trusting him completely, had refused to let him enter the cave with the rest of the pride. Still trembling, he took one more look around the cave, just to be sure that Kovu wasn't hiding behind a rock, ready to strike...

No, he told himself. No. It was just a dream. Kovu isn't Scar. He isn't like him at all. He saved Shani, didn't he? He can't be bad if he would risk his life to do something like that.

As he thought this, Simba's mind grew calmer and calmer until at last he was relaxed enough to go back to sleep. He had no more dreams that night.


The next morning, Simba assembled a small group of lionesses to look for Timira. The group was to be divided into two halves, each one traveling in a different direction. Kovu, sensing what seemed like an opportunity, asked to join Simba's half of the group, but Chaka, who was standing nearby when Kovu proposed this, asked to come along as well. Simba agreed to this, and thus Kovu spent the entire search being closely monitored by Chaka, unable to make a move without him noticing.

Simba's half of the search party consisted of not only Kovu, Chaka and two of the pride's lionesses, but the peculiar meerkat and warthog duo that Kovu had been informed were Simba's most trusted companions. What sort of a lion would let two prey animals be part of his pride, Kovu wondered.

The search party soon reached the part of the Pride Lands that the fire had destroyed. Ash blanketed the bare ground, and the charred skeletons of trees reached towards the sky with their bare claw-like branches. The lions slowly made their way into the barren land, gazing in horrified awe at the desolation about them. Every now and then, they would spot the blackened skeleton of an animal that became trapped in the fire. Skeletons of zebras, antelope and wildebeest...but no lioness skeletons.

The search continued until the sun was high in the sky. This was the time Simba had said that the two halves of the group would rejoin and tell each other whether or not they had found Timira. However, the other half of the group -- the one led by Nala -- had been no more successful than Simba's half.

"There still might be a chance that she is alive," Simba said. "Tomorrow, we'll search these lands again."

Nala and most of the other lionesses in the group nodded. The search party returned to Pride Rock. They had all grown tired and every one of them needed to rest.

Kovu, however, couldn't rest. He sat beneath the shade of a tree near the base of Pride Rock, thinking about Simba and Chaka. Should he risk getting caught by Chaka and go for Simba now, or wait until Chaka trusted him? Would Chaka ever trust him?

"Hey," said a voice.

Kovu jumped slightly, but then relaxed when he saw that it was Shani.

"Oh, it's you," he muttered, turning away.

"Um..." said Shani, glancing down at her paws for a moment, "I wanted to thank you. You know, for saving me from the fire."

"Oh, that," Kovu said. "Sure, no problem."

He hoped Shani would go away now that he had acknowledged her thanks, but she didn't. In fact, she leaned even closer to him.

"You really are brave," she said.

Kovu mumbled in response.

"Remember that time we met when we were cubs, and you helped save me from the crocodiles?"

Kovu nodded. Shani cocked her head and stared at him.

"You don't talk a lot, do you?" she asked.

Normally, that sort of question would have received an irritated comeback from Kovu, but something in the way Shani asked it made him smirk.

"I guess I don't," he chuckled. "Is your dad going to kick me out of the Pride Lands for not talking enough?"

Shani giggled.

"I don't think so," she said.

There was a long pause, during which Kovu alternately looked at and looked away from Shani. She looked almost the same as she had looked when Kovu had first encountered her. She still had the same large, innocent eyes, the light gold fur, and even the scruffy tuft of fur on top of her head. Even her demeanor seemed a bit more like a cub's than a full-grown lioness'. Despite looking and acting somewhat cub-like, however, there was something genuinely beautiful about her, in both appearance and attitude.

Shani suddenly noticed Kovu staring at her and he quickly glanced away and cleared his throat.

"So..." he said as casually as he could. "Who is Timira? All I learned about her was what she looked like, but that was it."

Shani's ears drooped.

"She's my friend," she said quietly. "She's fast and smart and she's a great hunter...in fact, she was with me when I...when I got trapped in the fire."

Kovu frowned.

"You didn't see what happened to her?" he asked.

"No," said Shani. "But she just has to be all right. She has to. I know we'll find her soon."

Kovu nodded, though inside he was sadly shaking his head.


The search party that was sent out the following day didn't find Timira, and neither did the one sent out the day after that. Kovu never had a chance to attack Simba, for when Simba wasn't surrounded by his lionesses, Kovu was being watched by Chaka. And now Shani had started to follow him around like a cub follows its mother, infinitely curious about him and his life growing up in the Outlands. Kovu tried to remain as secretive as he could, but he found himself having to lie often, and it was very difficult to keep track of a fabricated story of his life and figure out a way to kill Simba at the same time.

In a way, he felt sorry for Shani. She would be heartbroken when her father was killed...and Chaka would be pretty upset about it as well. As for Nala...well, at last she would truly understand how Bianca felt when her mate was murdered.

On the fourth day after Kovu's rescue of Shani, Simba decided to call off the search for Timira long enough for the pride to go hunting. He, Chaka and Kovu rested beneath a large acacia and watched the lionesses hunt, though in actuality Chaka spent most of his time watching Kovu. Shani was with them as well, still reluctant to hunt after the fire and the disappearance of Timira. After the better part of an hour, the lionesses succeeded in taking down a large wildebeest. Simba, his children and Kovu padded over to the kill and the lionesses stepped back to allow Simba and Chaka to eat first, as was the custom. Simba approached the carcass, with Chaka following him. Kovu cautiously stepped towards it as well, but Chaka suddenly stepped in front of him, barring his way.

"Newcomers eat with the lionesses," he growled in a low voice. "Only adult males of royal blood get to eat first."

Kovu, backed away from Chaka, considerably perturbed. He was Scar's son! Wasn't Scar of royal blood? Fuming, he walked away from the kill and sat down several feet from it. Shani immediately bounded to his side.

"Your brother isn't being very welcoming to me," he said to her as Chaka began tearing away at the carcass by Simba's side.

"Well, he does take being the future king pretty seriously," Shani said. "And he's the only male in this pride besides Dad, so having you around is probably making him a little edgy."

Kovu grunted.

"I'd think he'd be more grateful to me for saving your life," he said.

Shani shrugged.

"Maybe he just needs to get to know you better," she suggested.


After everyone in the pride had eaten their fill, the big cats stretched out in the shade of a small grove of trees. Kovu couldn't remember the last time he had eaten such a filling meal. It had left him blissfully happy, so happy that the thought of killing Simba was miles away. For him, there was only this moment, lying in tall, lush grass beneath a cluster of trees thick with bright green leaves, his belly filled and his mind at rest. An eternity seemed to pass before he heard a soft voice speaking to him:

"Kovu? Hey, Kovu?"

It was Shani. Kovu sluggishly sat up and shook his head, annoyed at having his moment of tranquility interrupted.

"What kind of prey is there in the Outlands?"

Kovu sighed.

"Not much," he said. "It's mostly mice and ground squirrels out there. There are also lots of bats in the cave, but they're pretty hard to catch."

"Wow," Shani said. "You mean all the Outlands are just as barren as that part by the river?"

"Yep," Kovu said sadly. "Dry, rocky, hardly any grass, lots of clouds but little rain...makes me wonder why I didn't leave there years ago."

"Goodness," said a weary voice from behind Shani. "Now that sounds familiar."

Kovu and Shani turned. The voice belonged to Nala's mother, Sarafina. Sarafina was quite old now, but though she was no longer strong enough to join in the hunts, she still came out to watch her pride sisters take down prey -- and of course, to eat what they caught.

"What sounds familiar?" Shani asked her grandmother.

"That dry, rocky land with hardly any prey that the young lion was talking about," Sarafina said, "It sounds almost like the way these lands were when Scar was in control."

Kovu stared quizzically at her.

"You mean...during the time there was that drought?" he asked.

"Drought?" Sarafina repeated. "I think it was more than that. No drought I've ever been through lasted as long as that one did. In fact, things seemed to start getting worse just shortly after Scar killed Mufasa and exiled poor Simba..."

If Kovu hadn't been so sternly disciplined, his mouth would have dropped open in shock at these words. Scar killing someone? And exiling Simba? What was this old lioness talking about?

"Erm...Kovu said, trying to sound as calm as he could, "I'm afraid I don't know the history of these lands very well...what exactly happened between Scar and Mufasa?"

Sarafina's tired green eyes widened.

"You don't know?" she said in surprise. "Well, I'd say it's high time you were told, son..."

Kovu lay silently in the grass as Sarafina began to tell her story. She told him how Mufasa and Scar were brothers and how Scar always envied his older brother's position as king of the Pride Lands. When Mufasa's son Simba was a cub, Scar first tried to kill him with the aid of some hyenas he had befriended -- an attack which almost claimed the life of Nala as well.

When that attempt failed, Scar managed to kill Mufasa by throwing him into a wildebeest stampede. Simba survived, but Scar was able to convince him that he was responsible for Mufasa's death and then exiled him. Scar then informed the pride that both Mufasa and Simba were dead, and allowed the hyenas' pack to invade the Pride Lands.

During Scar's reign, Sarafina said, the land became parched and withered and the once abundant herds of animals vanished. Then Bianca and her small pride came to the Pride Lands, and taking pity on them, Scar accepted them and made Bianca his queen. Nala finally left the Pride Lands in the hopes of finding help, but to her astonishment, she found Simba and convinced him to return to his homeland to reclaim his place as the rightful king. When Simba confronted Scar, Scar attempted to kill him again, but Simba fought back and learned the truth about his father's murder. He was then able to force Scar to confess what he had done to the rest of the pride.

"He told us that Scar begged him for mercy when he had him cornered," Sarafina said, her voice growing tired by this point, "And Simba told him to leave the kingdom, but Scar attacked him again. Simba threw him over the edge of Pride Rock, but the fall didn't kill him...but his cohorts did."

"His cohorts?" Kovu asked quietly, trying to hide the tremor in his voice.

"The hyenas," Sarafina said, shaking her head sadly. "They must have realized that Scar had only used them to keep us under control, and turned on him. After that, Simba took his place as king...and it's strange, but that very same night, it started to rain in the Pride Lands for the first time since Scar took control. Just a few days after that, the grasses began to sprout, and in a few months, the lands were just as green and plentiful as they had been during Mufasa's reign."

She smiled fondly, no doubt remembering how amazing it had been to see the once dead kingdom coming to life again.

"And a little while after that, Bianca tried to kill Simba, and fearful of letting her and her companions stay in the Pride Lands, Simba banished them to the Outlands. Then some time after that, Shani and Chaka were born, and judging by how old you look, I guess you were born around the same time...and that's pretty much it."

"I see," Kovu said slowly. "Thanks for the...the story."

"Of course," Sarafina smiled.

Kovu's mind spun wildly. It was as if his entire world had been bent, twisted, turned upside-down and inside-out all at the same time. This new knowledge was driving him almost insane with confusion.

Then his confusion began to turn into denial: this lioness had to be lying. She was a Pridelander, and Pridelanders hated Outsiders with a passion and could never be trusted...but his mother had been the one who told him this, and with the exception of Simba and Chaka, none of the Pridelanders seemed to show any malice towards him at all...and hadn't Simba trusted him enough to let him join the pride, go on a couple of those search parties with him and watch the lionesses hunt by his side?

Bianca had also told him that Simba was a no-account rogue who had somehow gained the trust of the lionesses and encouraged them to rebel against Scar, and that Simba had exiled them when he found out that she was Scar's mate and her pride was loyal to him. But Simba being Scar's nephew and Scar killing his own brother? Had Bianca been deliberately keeping this knowledge from Kovu all his life...or was she completely unaware of it?

There so many questions Kovu wanted to ask, but he forced himself to stay silent. From that point on, however, he was a very different lion.

[KiarasMate]

Another great chapter you wrote here Akril. ^^ Love the twist you added with Sarafina being the one to inform Kovu about the truth of what really happened between Simba and Scar. Keep up the fantastic work as always my friend and looking forward to the next chapter.

[Mike]

Good choice making Sarafina the one to tell the tail =) Very appropriate and unorthodox choice ^.^

[Akril]

[quote="divsalley"]Alright... I've just got one thing to say... THIS IS AWESEOME! Great adaptation of Simba's Pride! Looking forward to reading the rest of this fanfic![/quote]
Thank you!

And to respond to Mike and KiarasMate, I don't know if I had any real reasons for having Sarafina be the "storyteller" in the last chapter. I just knew that one of the elder lionesses would be the best candidate to tell Kovu the entire story of Mufasa and Scar, and since Sarafina looks a lot younger than Sarabi, I figured that she could have lived long enough fill this role.

EDIT: I guess you could also say that she's making up for her extreme dearth of lines in TLK. : )

[Akril]

Chapter Eleven:


The days dragged on and still, no trace of Timira was found. Masika had grown so upset that she often stayed in a corner of the cave all day, convinced that her daughter was dead. Still, Shani kept telling herself over and over that Timira couldn't be dead. Everything caught in that fire had left bones, and no one had found any lioness's bones amongst the ashes. That convinced her that Timira couldn't have died in the fire, but as for the question of where Timira was, that was one Shani couldn't answer.

Kovu spent much time brooding over what to do about Simba. With this new knowledge that had invaded his mind, he wasn't sure of anything anymore. Was killing Simba truly the right thing to do? Was avenging the death of Scar, a father he had never known who had allowed these lands to fall into ruin, really what he wanted to do?

As for being king...what did he know about ruling a kingdom? All Bianca had ever taught him was how to fight and kill. She hadn't taught him anything about settling disputes with other animals, leading a pride or making difficult decisions. What would happen if Kovu did kill Simba and become king? Would the land wither like it did during Scar's reign without a wise ruler to watch over it?

At times, these questions became too much for Kovu to bear, and again and again, he found himself seeking out the company of the only member of the pride he truly felt at ease with: Shani. Her presence brought back memories of simpler times when he was still just a cub and wasn't saddled with the mission of killing Simba.

After a while, Simba began to trust Kovu enough to let him visit with Shani freely, and even allowed him to sleep in the cave with the rest of the pride. Even Chaka had stopped shadowing Kovu every single day. A few weeks ago, Kovu might have used this opportunity to attack Simba now that his guard was down, but so much had changed since then that Kovu didn't know what he was going to do now. His mother was no doubt wondering what was taking him so long to get the job done, and Kovu couldn't just return to the Outlands and tell her that he had changed his mind about what he had been trained for nearly his entire life, could he?

"What are you thinking about?" Shani asked him.

Kovu shook his head, her voice bringing him back to his senses. He had been so deep in thought that he had almost forgotten where he and Shani were.

Now he saw that they were walking side by side through the Pride Lands, with a clear blue sky overhead and tender green grass beneath their paws. Shani was looking earnestly at him, waiting for his reply.

"Oh," Kovu said. "I was thinking about...these lands."

Shani looked at the wide, grassy plains that surrounded them and smiled.

"Yes," she said quietly. "They're so beautiful during this season."

Then suddenly she became downcast.

"What is it?" Kovu asked.

"I was just thinking about the Outsiders," Shani said. "I know Bianca tried to kill Dad once, but...it just doesn't seem fair that her whole pride should live in a place like the Outlands. I know Scar was your dad and your mom really hates my dad, but you're not like either of them."

"I'm not?" Kovu asked.

"Yeah. You're really nice, and you don't seem to hate any of us...and you can't be the only Outsider who's like that."

She pursed her lips thoughtfully for a moment, and then her face brightened.

"Maybe when Chaka is king, we can let the Outsiders come back here...or at least find somewhere better for them to..."

A flock of birds noisily flying over a nearby hill distracted Shani. She gazed inquisitively in the direction the birds had gone.

"What's going on up there?" Kovu wondered out loud.

"I don't know," Shani said. "Let's see."

She broke into a fast trot, eagerly bounding up the hill, with Kovu close behind her. As Shani leapt over the crest of the hill, she almost landed on top of Timon, who screamed in fright at her approach.

"Oh my gosh, I'm sorry, Timon!" Shani said, skidding to a halt just in time.

"Oh, Shani!" Timon gasped. "Thank goodness it's just you."

Kovu came to the top of the hill. From here, he could see a large, bare patch of ground below them covered with a flock of small brown birds -- the same birds he and Shani had seen flying over the hill.

"What are you doing here?" Shani asked.

"Pumbaa and I are trying to find ourselves a few delectable bugs to munch," Timon explained, pointing towards his warthog companion, who stood a few feet away. "And this is the best place in the Pride Lands to find them."

He sighed and gestured towards the many birds that were scratching and pecking at the ground.

"The problem is that these darn birds got here before we did -- and they don't look like they're leaving anytime soon."

He waved his hands at a nearby bird, attempting to shoo it away. The bird merely squawked angrily at him and went back to its digging. Pumbaa was charging the birds in an attempt to scare them away, but the birds would always fly back to their original positions, no matter how many times he lunged at them. Timon put his hands on his hips and stared at the birds, fuming.

"Uh...you think there's anything we could do to help?" Shani asked.

"I dunno, Princess," Timon muttered. "These feathered fiends don't scare easily. It'd take something big to really get them -- "

He suddenly stopped and turned to look at Kovu.

"Hmm," he said thoughtfully. "Hey big guy, maybe you could help us."

"Uh...how?" Kovu asked, staring dubiously at the meerkat.

"Just give 'em a good roar. That oughta send 'em flying."

Kovu looked skeptical for a moment, then inhaled and roared thunderously. The birds immediately took to the air in a wild, squabbling flock. Shani was so caught up in the excitement of the moment that she ran down the hill, scattering what few birds remained and chasing the ones that were already in flight. Kovu took off after her, while Timon whooped exuberantly, and ran and jumped onto Pumbaa's back. With all thoughts of digging for bugs forgotten, the warthog galloped after the two young lions.

Kovu had no idea why he was running after Shani, let alone why Shani was chasing the birds. There didn't seem to be any logical reason for either, and doing so seemed like a pointless waste of energy. However, in some strange way, Kovu was actually enjoying himself, and the more he ran, the happier he became. All that was important to him right now was running through the high grass, with Shani by his side.

The four animals followed the birds into a shallow, rocky gorge. They were having so much fun that they didn't even notice the danger ahead of them until it was almost too late. The gorge opened up onto a field occupied by a large number of rhinoceroses. Kovu, Shani and Pumbaa skidded to a halt just inches away from the nearest rhino's snout. The rhino glared angrily at them and bellowed loudly, and that was all the warning the lions, the meerkat and the warthog needed. They turned tail and ran back up the gorge, with the angry rhinos rumbling after them. After rounding a tight turn, Kovu spotted a small crevice in the rock wall and bolted for it, with Shani, Timon and Pumbaa darting in after him. The rhinos stampeded by their tiny hiding spot, and after a minute or so, the dust had settled and all was quiet.

Though they had all been quite frightened by the close call, now that the danger had passed, Timon, Pumbaa, Shani and even Kovu couldn't help laughing at their little adventure. After a few moments, however, there was a voice from outside the crevice:

"Ah, there you are, Princess Shani. Your father was wondering where you had disappeared to."

It was Zazu. He had alighted at the base of the gorge and was staring disapprovingly at the four of them, especially Shani and Kovu, who were squeezed somewhat close together.

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" the hornbill asked.

"Uh...no," Shani said sheepishly, glancing at Kovu. I think we should be getting out of here, though."

"Right," Kovu agreed.

After much grunting, pushing and pulling, they had all freed themselves from the confines of the crevice. Timon hopped onto Pumbaa's back again.

"Say, Zazu," the meerkat said. "Where's your girlfriend? I thought I'd see her riding one of those rhinos, but I didn't."

"Binti?" Zazu asked, growing a little uneasy at the mention of her. "I'm afraid I haven't seen much of her or that rhino of hers either. They should be around here somewhere, though."

Timon nodded, but his face showed that he wasn't completely satisfied by Zazu's answer, and Shani could understand why. She hadn't seen Binti or Winston in weeks. The two of them didn't even show up when Shani and Timira were preparing to go on their hunt. It was so strange --she had often seen Binti and Zazu talking together or preening each other, and Zazu would sometimes give Binti a little present like a bunch of berries or a small flower. Why had she suddenly disappeared, and why was Zazu being so nonchalant about her going missing? Had something unfortunate happened to her and was Zazu pretending that she was all right, like Shani was doing with Timira?

No, Shani told herself. Timira is alive. She has to be. She'll come back soon.

This time, however, a tiny, desperate voice in the back of her mind added:

Please...please let her be all right.


Shani and Kovu spent the evening watching the stars. When Shani told him how her father told her how the Great Kings of the Past looked down at their descendants from the heavens, a sadness filled Kovu's heart as he wondered if Scar was among them as well. Why did he find himself so drawn to the daughter of the lion he was supposed to kill, and why did she seem to like him as well? Why didn't the fact that he was Scar's son and heir frighten her at all? Why did she put so much trust into the lion whose parents had both tried to kill her father?

As the two lions looked up at the night sky, Simba watched them from atop a nearby knoll. Though he had accepted Kovu into the pride, he still couldn't forget what Bianca had said about him so long ago about Kovu becoming the new king when her pride had reclaimed the Pride Lands.

Simba looked up to the vast sea of stars that shimmered overhead, recalling that night so long ago that Mufasa had told him about them...just a few days before he had been taken from Simba too many years too soon. If only he and Sarabi could be here now. Father, Mother, I don't know what I should do, Simba thought. Kovu is an Outsider only by birth, but...he's still one of them. Did really I do the right thing by allowing him into this pride?

"Simba?"

Simba turned his head. Nala had padded up to his side. She looked down at Shani and Kovu, who were now gently nuzzling each other.

"You still don't trust him, do you?" she asked Simba.

Simba sighed and shook his head.

"How can I?" he said. "He's Scar's son. What if he's just like Scar and is only hiding that part of himself from us?"

Nala looked sadly at the dark young lion sitting beside her daughter.

"Simba, he never even knew Scar," she said quietly. "And if there was anything in him like Scar, I'm sure we would have noticed it by now. Scar had so much hate in him, just like Bianca does now...but Kovu doesn't."

Simba frowned, then looked down at Shani and Kovu again. As Shani gently rubbed her head against Kovu's, a great change suddenly took place in Kovu's mind. It was that moment that he knew that he wasn't going to do what he had been trained his entire life to do. He wasn't going to kill Simba because Shani was his daughter...and Kovu was in love with her.

[thedog]

thsts a lot of reading

[YFWE]

Another pair of good chapters, Akril! (I swear I usually don't make it a habit of only reviewing fanfics every two chapters, LOL. Been a bit busy lately is all.) I'm glad to see the possibility remains of Timira still being alive... I personally think, with the way your writing's been headed, she is still alive, though I'm absolutely unsure as to what's happened. I do wonder if perhaps her disappearance and Binti and Winston's disappearance are related.

Kudos on having Sarafina tell the story of Scar as well. I think it was done much better than it would have been had Nala or Simba told it. Sarafina kinda has that elder vibe, and she was actually there the ENTIRE time during Scar's reign, presumably. I also liked how you actually wrote that scene... instead of making it sound like some elongated monologue, you switched things up a bit.

Kovu's change of heart has been interesting to say the least, and of course not surprising since we really already know the story in that respect, LOL. I have a feeling the next chapter is going to be interesting, though... in that there's gonna be a bit of a roadblock for Kovu in terms of whether he should resign himself to following orders or staying with the pride, and I think we'll see a return from some Outlanders soon. Could be wrong but I feeeeel like that's the next step. Obviously you already have everything written out... guess we'll see if I'm right.

[Akril]

Eee, another long reply to respond to....

[quote="YFWE"]Another pair of good chapters, Akril! (I swear I usually don't make it a habit of only reviewing fanfics every two chapters, LOL. Been a bit busy lately is all.) I'm glad to see the possibility remains of Timira still being alive... I personally think, with the way your writing's been headed, she is still alive, though I'm absolutely unsure as to what's happened. I do wonder if perhaps her disappearance and Binti and Winston's disappearance are related.[/quote]
Thanks again. I appreciate your frequent feedback. Obviously, I can't say anything about Timira, Binti or Winston without ruining the story, so all I can say is to be patient. We're more than halfway through now.

[quote]Kudos on having Sarafina tell the story of Scar as well. I think it was done much better than it would have been had Nala or Simba told it. Sarafina kinda has that elder vibe, and she was actually there the ENTIRE time during Scar's reign, presumably. I also liked how you actually wrote that scene... instead of making it sound like some elongated monologue, you switched things up a bit.[/quote]
Yeah -- I knew that having Sarafina actually narrate the entire story would be a bit dull since anyone who's watched TLK already knows most of it (and I don't know what people who haven't watched it are doing reading this fanfic), so I just described the essential parts, but have her finish the story.

[quote]Kovu's change of heart has been interesting to say the least, and of course not surprising since we really already know the story in that respect, LOL. I have a feeling the next chapter is going to be interesting, though... in that there's gonna be a bit of a roadblock for Kovu in terms of whether he should resign himself to following orders or staying with the pride, and I think we'll see a return from some Outlanders soon. Could be wrong but I feeeeel like that's the next step. Obviously you already have everything written out... guess we'll see if I'm right.[/quote]
Yep, Kovu's startlingly fast "evil-to-good" metamorphosis in SP has bugged a lot of people, so obviously, I decided to make it more gradual in this story (though I still left in the bird chase). And since this story does follow SP's plot extremely closely, your feeling about the Outlanders is correct, as you'll soon see...