The Lion King: Legend of Kopa

Chapter Thirteen

   No one in the pride really talked about the close hyena encounter as a few more days went by. That was to Kopa's relief, because he didn't really want to speak about it.
   Kiara, in the meantime, was growing with every day. Soon, she was able to waddle around the den and say chopped words like "mommy" and "daddy" and "Kopa."
   Vitani was on Kopa's mind a lot lately. Since Vitani was the daughter of Zira, a lioness who wasn't very fond of Simba, Kopa would often wonder if Simba approved of him being close friends with Vitani. Kopa didn't like to dwell on that thought, though.
   One warm morning, Kopa woke to Vitani gently prodding his flank with her paw. "Kopa," she whispered, "Come with me. You have to see this."
   Curious about what Vitani has to show him, Kopa slowly stood up, careful not to wake Simba, Nala, or Kiara, and tiptoed after his friend.
   Vitani led him outside. The sky was still a rich orange colour because it was still sunrise. It looked very beautiful, but it didn't seem like that was what Vitani wanted to show him.
   Kopa followed Vitani across the quiet Pridelands. After several minutes passed by, he noticed they were headed in the direction of the gorge. The gorge if where Simba said Kopa was never allowed to go, because apparently Simba nearly died there during a wildebeest stampede when he was a cub. And that's also where the great former king Mufasa was killed.
    When Kopa and Vitani reached the top of the large gorge, the two cubs stared down into it in amazement. It was huge, but they didn't see any animals in it right now.
   "It's huge," Vitani breathes, fascinated.
   "It is pretty cool," Kopa agreed. "But we aren't supposed to be here. We'll get into trouble. What if we're caught?"
   "Who cares?" Vitani giggled. "It's not that dangerous. Come on!"
   Before Kopa could object, she took off down the broad ravine, tail high with excitement.
   I can't let her go down there alone, Kopa thought, so he ran down the gorge after her. When they reached the bottom, they looked around, amazed.
   "This is so cool!" Vitani squealed. She raced up to Kopa and gently batted her paw at his shoulder. "Tag! You're it!"
   Kopa jumped, a bit startled. He saw Vitani galloping away from him, laughing.
   Kopa sprinted after her. The two cubs ran around the bottom of the gorge, laughing with joy. Kopa was so caught up in their game or tag he completely forgot about the fact that Simba forbid anyone in his pride to come down here.
   Suddenly, Vitani halted, not looking that excited anymore. Confused at why she had suddenly stopped playing, Kopa halted, too. It looked like Vitani had seen something out of the ordinary, and was now staring at it.
   "What is it, Vitani?" Kopa asked. "Do you see something?"
    Vitani nodded slowly. "Yeah," she answered under her breath. "Look over there, Kopa." She started walking toward a laying-down figure in the distance, further down the gorge.
   Kopa and Vitani cautiously made their way up to it. When they got closer, they were finally able to make out what it was. It was a large, old lion skeleton, laying underneath a dead tree. The lion skeleton looked like it had been laying there long before Kopa was born.
   "Woah!" Vitani gasped in wonder. "Cool, someone's skeleton!"
   Kopa approached it. The skeleton was dusty and was completely stripped of its flesh so only it's bones remained, but it was still perfectly together. Judging by the skeleton's size, Kopa assumed it was likely that of a male lion.
   "Check it out!" Vitani said, walking up to beside Kopa. "I've never seen a lion's skeleton before. Whose skeleton do you think this is?"
   A thought suddenly occurred to Kopa. It hit him like a million stones. "Do you think..."he began softly, "this could be Mufasa's skeleton?"
  Vitani's mouth dropped open. "Wow, that's awesome!" She exclaimed. "Nuka totally has to see this. Wait here, Kopa. I'm gonna go get him." Without waiting for Kopa to reply, she raced up the ravine and disappeared.
   "O-Okay." Kopa sat next to Mufasa's skeleton and patiently waited for Vitani to return with Nuka. For a moment Kopa thought he could feel Mufasa's spirit drifting around him, softly whispering: "Kopa, get out of here, now. Danger's coming."
   But Kopa ignored it, convinced he was just imagining things.