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Chapter 9 Storm on the Horizon

In the early days at autumn, an unnatural hush fell over the pride lands one afternoon. Blocking out a part of the sky was a wall of dangerous looking thunderheads. An impressive display of black and dark purple, the pillars of the leading edge stretched to the heavens as distant as another world. The Savannah being near the equator rarely showed signs of the changing seasons. One exception was an occasional sweeping storm. However none of the inhabitants had ever quite seen a storm look this dangerous in living memory. Perhaps it was the lack of wind, but all manner of birds and beasts knew they were in trouble from a threat they could not fight. So as instinct urged, they rushed to hunker down and seek shelter.

This included the lions of pride rock. All hunting parties were terminated when the true scope of the storm became visible. The few that were lucky early on in their hunts busied themselves in transporting their kills to pride rock as soon as possible. One of those groups was the king and his daughter. They had had a productive morning. Having managed to take down a gazelle, they took turns in dragging the carcass to the base of pride rock. The playful romance they had shared seemed to fade as the walls of the mighty storm loomed closer and closer. They were still a mile from the base of pride rock when they were intercepted by 3 of the other lionesses. They had been sent by Zazu to relieve the king and his daughter of the burden of the hunt.

Delila, Pili, and Salima greeted the couple with proper respect before explaining that they were there to take the kill and to inform the King that his mother's hunting party was the only ones who have yet to return and had not been seen yet. The queen had sent Zazu who could be seen in the sky to the south to search for them. It was the Queen's request that Simba assisted in the search and to bring them back safely. Upon hearing this, Simba glanced up at the sky. The tower of clouds already covered a third of the sky. At the rate it was coming, the sun would be blocked in an hours time. He had to hurry. He was about to tell his daughter to accompany the others back when he turned towards her. His command died in his throat at the sight of her face.

Kiara had heard the others explain her Grandmother's absence and the request that her father finds them. She also knew that her father would want her back at Pride rock in safety. A rush of emotions filled her as her father turned towards her, an order to safety at his lips. One of those emotions was hurt. She couldn't explain it well, but she was hurt and a little disgusted with him. After everything he had said to her these past three days, after mating with him and putting his cubs in her belly, he still wanted to treat her like a cub herself. Her face scrunched in a snarl with tears in her eyes, the king stopped dead in his tracks. The other three lionesses also noticed. Exchanging uncomfortable glances all eyes were on Kiara.

"What am i to you?" She snarled through her fangs. The king, looking uncomfortable, took a few steps away and faced his daughter. Instinct told him to keep his sensitive rear end away from the claws of an exceptionally angry lioness. "What did i do all this for?" She asked. Tears now running down her face she took a step forward. "Why, after choosing me to be a mother to your cubs, do you still not trust me?" The king took another step back. Not knowing what to say, he said her name in a placating tone. The three other lioness just stared. "It's not that i don't trust you,"he stammered taking another step back. "Its just that i want you to be safe... the storm, ya know" He finished lamely. Maybe it was the heat messing with her mind, but Kiara felt betrayed. She looked into his face and saw the fear in his eyes. How could he still see her as a helpless cub and yet be terrified of her. He had been slowly stepping back from her clearly concerned for his safety. She looked into his face, emotions rolling, and said what had always been on the back of her mind.

"I'm not Kopa!...I'm not the son that you failed to save!" She screamed at him. The three lionesses gasped and crouched, the gazelle clearly forgotten. A look of terrified shock was on the King's face. Speechless he just stared at his daughter. "When will you stop treating me like you're trying to make up for his death?" She yelled at him. Tears of frustration now pooling at her feet. "All i ever wanted from you was trust and confidence in my abilities...My dream was to serve you in a manner no one else could. I thought that once we had cubs of our own you would see me as no different then mom." Her frame shook with the strength of her frustration. "How many special missions have you sent her on? How many times did you ask for volunteers to lead a hunt and never asked me once?" She now sat in front of her father, head bowed she could only get one more sentence out. "Why can't you forgive yourself instead of pushing it on me?" Now with her head gently resting on his mane, she cried her grief.

For the King's part, he was stunned. Like a piercing knife her words had struck at the very core of his being. Here his daughter was, sobbing into his mane and he had no way to comfort her. She had been right... she had been right about everything. He had no real trust in her because he was terrified of putting her in a situation that would result in her getting hurt. And it all stemmed from his grief and guilt of failing Kopa. The day he would never be able to forget or forgive himself for flashed before his eyes as his daughter sobbed into his chest.

It had been a joyeous day for the pride when Nala had been the first to give birth to the next generation of cubs. The entire kingdom had cried out in joy at the sight of the new prince in Rafiki's arms as he was held in the tradition of his forefathers. After so long watching the pride lands decay under Scar's rule, they were over joyed in the prospect of knowing the new King's legacy would continue on. As for Simba, his own heart was filled with joy and love at the sight. His wife, weak and tired from giving birth still managed to shine with a happiness he had only seen on her twice before. Once was in the jungle shortly after their first mating. He had just came into her when she sang out a note and licked his muzzle. As he opened his eyes from riding the waves of climax, she had giving him a look of pure love and wonder. The other time had been when he climbed back down from the top of pride rock, having just claimed the throne. In the rain she had flashed him that look again. Now here she was, leaning against him, a smile on her face with that look in her eyes as she watched Rafiki presenting the new prince.

That look had not lasted though. The prince proved to be even more of a trouble maker then Simba had been at his age. Not knowing his limitations or that there were dangers that he could not understand, the prince often found himself in spots of trouble. Like playing with other cubs on the edge of pride rock, or getting kicked by grabbing an antelope's rear legs with his claws. He had to be kept under constant watch. This patience and constant attentiveness had not been a strength of Simba's as he found that it was impossible to do both his new duties and keep an eye on the cub when he was with him. And so it was that fateful day. It had been a great morning as the king had taken his son with him on his morning patrols. Wanting to spend more time bonding with the young prince, he had chosen to show him the duties that would be his one day. With every step he felt like his father as he explained everything from the circle of life to marking out territory lines. Kopa had not been paying much attention and seemed more focused on playing in the grasses rather then listening to any instructions. So the king stopped trying and instead scouted and marked the edges of the pridelands. His son was busy playing in the grasses. Sometimes he'd pop out to pounce on his father, other times he'd wait a while before going for his tail. One way or the other, Simba felt like it was good quality father-son time spent. It had been during one of the moments where his son had run forward a bit to lie and wait for his father to ambush that it all went wrong.

Kopa had ran in front of his father, sprinting up the next hill. Simba had played this game with him before. As soon as Simba went up the hill his son would jump from somewhere in the grasses we're Simba would act surprised and praise his son. At the base of the hill, he was just about to mark when he heard the unmistakable snarl of another lion. His heart dropping with terror he sprinted up the hill. But he could not get there in time. As he crested the hill, he saw a sight that would be burned into his night terrors. .A nother male had Kopa on the ground in his claws and just as Simba was about to cry out his son's name, the male grabbed Kopa by the neck and with a vicious twist of his head pulled the cub's head away from his body which was still being held by his claws on the ground. The king showed no mercy. Leaping at the male he flew into a rage. The rogue male was no match for his fury. It did not take long before he lost an eye to a vicious swipe of Simba's paw before he turned tail and sprinted away. Like a coward the injured male pelted towards the Badlands. Simba did not chase him. Instead he turned and with trepidation walked towards where his son lay. Hoping beyond hope, he walked to the tan cub with a red tufted tail. One look at his boy's body was enough to tell him that he was gone. The only thing connecting his head to his body was his hide. It was clear that everything under it was destroyed.

The next few months had been the worst in Simba's life. He had to face his Queen with his failure and their son's death. Nala had done everything she could not to blame him for his death, instead reminded him that, that male would have probably killed him had Kopa not disturbed his ambush. In which case both him and his son would have been dead. Then every other cub would have been killed that was not sired by the victorious male. But still, she never looked at him with that radiant joy ever again. Even all these years later, he knew grief ate at her heart. And it was his fault.

Now here, with the storm on the horizon, he sat with his daughter's head in his mane. Her sobs and tears soaking through his hairs... "Your Right" he said gently in her ear. Lifting her head up with his, he looked into her tear soaked eyes. "Your Right.... iv been channeling my own guilt into how iv been treating you. Iv always know you wanted recognition but i wouldn't give it. Iv always known all you wanted from me was trust but i couldn't give it. Its because every time i look into your beautiful eyes, i see your mother's eyes and the look they carried ever since Kopa's death." The King's voice cracked at this admission. His own tears forming in his eyes for the hurt he was causing. But he continued. "Iv been stuck in the past not wanting to risk being hurt again. But now i see that all iv been doing is hurting you. And I'm sorry." The king leaned his head in, with a tentative cheek rub he got back up on all fours. "But no more." He continued on a stronger voice. "Its time for me to let it go. And let you go." There he paused, looking into his daughter's eyes. "I want you to search for your Grandmother's hunting party...Alone." Kiara looked at him with surprise. "You are to direct Zazu from overhead, find them and bring them home. Can you do this for me?"

Kiara was taken aback by this request. Initially she had just hoped he would allow her to help him search, but now she was to lead it. This was more then she could have hoped for. With a shaky voice still clogged with tears she agreed. Her father embraced her before telling her if she needed additional support she was to order Zazu to request it. But otherwise, it was in her paws, and her paws alone. " I'll be at Pride Rock getting ready for the storm if you need me. Be-" The king cut himself off. He had been about to tell her to be careful, but instead he said "Find them quickly!". Then with a smile and another nuzzle he whispered in her ear " when you get back I'm going to cum in you right infront of everyone else, so be quick about it. " Kiara giggled as she straightened up and feeling capable sprinted off towards where Zazu was still searching.

The king watched her go. With worry in his heart, despite what he had said, he was worried he might lose her too. He was brought back to the present by Delila who approached her King and tentatively asked if they should follow Kiara. Simba had forgotten that the three were even there having witnessed the scene. He was tempted but resisted and told them that they were to return to the pride with the kill while he did a last sweep of the lands. So off Simba went anxiously watching the building thunderheads growing near. As he sprinted along the pride lands the dark shadow flashed across the ground plunging them into an unusual darkness. And still there was no wind. The erie silence and lack of normalcy sent stabs a fear into his heart. Maybe he had made the wrong decision to allow Kiara to proceed on her own in these conditions. But he could not recall her now and would have to trust in her heart that she had been right.