The Lion King: Dawn Of The Nations

Episode 55: Wavering

The Lion King: Dawn of the Nations

Episode 55: Wavering

The night was warm, the moon and the stars adorned the dark blue sky that covered the Pride Lands. Kovu and Simba were drinking from a narrow river not too far away from Pride Rock, sitting next to each other as they quenched their thirst. "My father liked to drink from here." Simba chuckled softly with nostalgia. "After we played until exhaustion, we came here and shared moments just like this one, only peace and quietness, togetherness."

Kovu smiled while being hit by memories that weren't his, looking at his own reflection. "That sounds...beautiful." He looked at Simba with a smile.

"It truly was." Simba replied, also looking into his eyes with a tender smirk. "It's like if you've always been with us, my daughter lives in a dream, always smiling and laughing thanks to you." He noticed Kovu's distant and uncertain gaze. "I thought that look of yours was gone for good."

Kovu raised an eyebrow. "What look?"

"The one you have now, you bear such a great shame and sadness everywhere you go and your eyes betray you." Simba got closer to him, placing a paw on his back. "Drop this burden, my son." Kovu's heart felt an immeasurable warmth by Simba's words. "You are one of us and you will always be." Simba nuzzled his face with love, tears traveled slowly over Kovu's fur as he smiled with relief and appeasement.

Kovu was laying over the cold ground, in one of the dark and plant covered tunnels of Ungari, the sound of the waterfalls was his only company, he was silent but tears ran down his face. His ear twitched when hearing quick steps approaching, his nose recognized the scent of his little sons. "Daddy!" Keru exclaimed with happiness.

Kovu gasped. "Keru, my son!" He got onto his paws and rushed towards Keru, licking him and nuzzling him as he was the first to approach him.

"How are you, dad?" Keru asked caringly.

Kovu chuckled with a sudden bliss. "I'm...I'm alright."

Zale nuzzled his father as he stood on his hind legs and placed both paws on his chest. "We missed you, dad."

"I missed you too." Kovu looked at Kiara. "All of you." He was still too ashamed to even glare at Kion, who began to approach him.

"Kovu." Kion got close to him, Kovu focused his gaze on the scar he had made on Kion's face.

"Kion." Kovu lowered his head. "I..." He shook his head and sighed. "I'm sorry." He felt a lump in his throat. "What I did...it has no excuse. I betrayed you...I betrayed Simba." A tear ran down his face as his voice broke. "Your mother, who received me with so much love and care, I also betrayed her." Kovu sobbed. "Kion...forgive me. Please...forgive me."

Kion looked at him for a long moment, then he placed a paw on his shoulder. "You're my brother, Kovu. It's all that matters." Kion licked his forehead with a brotherly and tender feeling, full of love and understanding. "We are one." Kion started to cry while resting his forehead on his, Kovu burst into tears as well, tears of love, joy and hope. Kiara let out a gasp of happiness, Ari, Zale and Keru approached both of them and nuzzled them continuously, with a strong union and affection, being joined by Kiara afterwards, all having a beautiful and powerful moment.

On the meantime, Azaad, Ozel, Faeze and Emba had reunited with Koca and some young lion warriors. The cubs sat down between some of them, listening to Koca's words, Ozel and Azaad were standing at his sides. "You do seem like strong cubs, no one can deny that, but strong cubs worthy to fight as The Lion Guard, that is something very different. That mark on your shoulders means nothing if you're weak from the mind and the spirit, regardless of your robust and young bodies." Koca took a step at the front and glared away at a set of rocks, ponds and bushes that were not too far away from that spot. "Training will help with that, practice leads to mastery, and mastery leads to virtue, which is what The Lion Guard defends, the great virtue of balance that The Circle of Life brings, decreed by the White Lion in the very beginning, "Mzunguko wa maisha", as the first ancestors called it. Are you willing to achieve virtue, younglings?"