BRAVESPIRIT ~ A Lion King Fanfiction

Chapter 3: Stars

Sorry for the short chapter today guys. Had a lot on my plate this week, new chapters coming hopefully sooner once proofreading is done!

Later that night in the caves of priderock, a restless cub struggled to sleep in his den. Koda had not been without his parents for some time, so falling asleep alone was difficult for him. He would toss and turn, trying different sleep positions to relax his mind and body, but to no avail.

With his heavy head grunting once again as he rolled into his side, he saw something he hadn't payed any attention to in a long time. A glimmer of light creeping in through the cracks of his den and over the other sleeping lionesses. Curious to see the light, he takes to his paws and walks his way to the den entrance, carefully making sure not to disturb any sleeping lioness in the den.

'Maybe this will at least help me relax.' He thought to himself as he approaches the entrance, giving way to the blue tinted Pridelands under the night sky.

The Pridelands had a gorgeous deep blue tint layer upon it as Koda realized while he made his track to the peak of pride rock. The night sky illuminated the Pridelands in a way Koda had never seen so beautifully. The dark blue colors tinted everything the eye could see. He remembered his early cub hood days. Remembering the time in his life before Kovu and Kiara, though they were his parents, they were only his adoptive parents. The fear of the unknown and the dark had poisoned his view of the night.

It was this darkness, that he truly learned how dark the night was without the glowing lights that shined above.

His attention turned to the stars, the beautiful white sparkles that sprinkled their light all over the Pridelands. The stars, to Koda had always been a symbol hope, though he was as clueless as to what they are as his great uncles Timon and Pumba, his curiosity was insatiable.

'I wonder, what is my purpose here. And if not here, where else could it be?'

The cubs eyes wandered to where he last saw his parents. They trailed down to the foot of pride rock, to the grassy plains off in the distance. Nervousness and fear glimmered in his eyes as he fought the pressure to shed a tear.

'Please come back soon.'

The wind gradually began bristling the fur on his head and chest, then all the way down his legs and to his paws. Though it was cold, it felt somewhat... calming, as if something was gently stroking his body like Kiara would with her tongue as she cleaned him. This small adjustment in his environment would be all he needed, and it was a gift from someone in the clouds, watching over him.

The cubs eyes were finally growing heavy, as he knew it was time to retire his body to a deep slumber. He took one final look at the stars, trying to get something from the great cascade that lay above him before returning to his family den.

In an old tree not so far away, a certain mandrill was tirelessly awake as well. Makini, still young and in her prime was finishing the painting of the royal family, adding the final details to the young prince. As she steps back, a feeling of great joy overcomes her as the painting is all up to date.

Her eyes wander up the tree, first seeing Koda, then Kovu and Kiara, remembering all the time she spent with them before they assumed the throne, and how much they had grown in stature and maturity.

Then to Kopa, Simba's first born son, one who had spent many years away from the Pridelands. The paintings depicted the capture and torment he endured under the hands of Scar's hyenas into his teenage years, before escaping to travel the plains, ultimately returning home to meet his nephews and his brother in law.

Rising all the way up to Simba, the last drawing that was made by Rafiki. A single tear escaping her eye as she reminisces on all the memories she had spent with the royal family.

As her tear dries however, her attention drifts down, to two feline figures. One was very strong, bold and masculine. The other was slimmer, much leaner and more feminine, a perfect blend of the two kinds, with two little offspring resting peacefully at their paws. Set aside from Kovu and Kiara, still no doubt a part of the royal family, but having been missing for years.

"We miss you greatly..." Makini whispers softly, as she places her forehead over the two cats, "...and the Pridelands needs you, now more than ever."

The wind outside the tree calms to a steady breeze, her sorrowful tone quickly changes to a more positive smile.

"Still trying to calm me after all these years aye Rafiki?" She chuckles to herself, as she gives one more glance to the paintings. Her attention is cut short, by a loud crash off in the distance and the sound of subtle rain drops hitting her tree. She looks once more to the mystery felines, and then to the sky,

"There's a storm rolling in." An old voice whispered from the clouds.

"I know old friend, everything is going to be different now." The young mandrill said before retreating up to a higher branch of the tree to a deep slumber. Laying her weary head to rest as she saw lightning brewing in the distance.