A New Life

Into the flames we go

"Are you absolutely sure this is the best approach?" Marisa asked Kovu as they stood on their side of the West River, looking out into the outlands where they caught sight of several of Cougar's night guards, patrolling the oulands' perimeters, watching for any intruders which may attempt to trespass.

Anyone who dared to come, would most likely  meet their gristly end.  "We no choice Marisa, this is the only way. We go into the outlands, ambush the guards and then we get Kiara out of there and get out without anyone noticing us, we are very well known in Cougar's pride, they'll recognize us in a split second and all hopes of rescuing Kiara will be ruined," Kovu said to his sister, his eyes not leaving the outlands for even a minute. 

Arsenal stood behind Kovu and Marisa, currently being restrained by Imara, Kasi and Shabaha. "Poor sweet, innocent Kovu, you have no idea what danger you and your pathetic followers are getting yourselves into. You are walking right into a death trap," Arsenal said with a smug smirk.
Kovu ignored her and continued to peer into the outlands.

He was counting the number of guards that were posted outside and calculating how long it would take for them to attack and hide their bodies. He would take with him, Marisa, Vitani, her four lion guard members, Chad, Charise, Alisa and five outsider lionesses.  Then they would clear the guards outside, rescue Kiara and leave quickly before they were discovered. Arsenal would be used as leverage over Cougar if the plan were to fail. 

Chad, Charise and Alisa were all for the plan, but were somewhat worried of what could happen if their parents were to find out that they were working with Kovu. They would be furious that they were working with the enemy, but hopefully when they find out why, they may have a change of heart. 

"Chad, Charise,  Alisa, Marisa, Vitani let's go. The guards are changing shifts, now's the perfect time to head out," Kovu whispered to them. With Arsenal now being held by Simba and Burnt Eboney, Nala and Diana, they  bounded down the slope and across the West River that separated the outlands from the Pride Lands.

Since all of them were familiar with the outlands and its pathways and cave entrances, they had no trouble entering the main termite mound where Kiara was most likely being held.  To their fortune, no guards had come out yet, so ambushing them proved to be uneccessary.

"Remember, Cougar doesn't know we're here, he expects us to launch an all out attack. We need to move swiftly and carefully. We'll go into groups of five to cover more ground," Kovu said lowly so his voice wouldn't echo around the mounds. "Vitani you and your lion guard will make up one group, Mia, Kori, Sia, Dana and Hadiya you'll make up another group, Chad, Charise, Alisa, Marisa and myself will make the last group."

With the groups established, everyone dispersed to search a different section of the cave. They went about calling Kiara's name, softly of course, and when they didn't find her in one place, they moved on to the other. Soon the entire place was checked save for one more cave. The one where Kovu slept in as a cub. As he entered, he felt a rush of unwanted emotions and quickly shook them away.

He then caught a faint wiff of something else and froze on the spot. He sniffed the air again and his eyes lit up. It was the unmistakable scent of his mate. He turned to look at Chad, Charise, Alisa and Marisa. "It's Kiara," he whispered softly.  

Without another word, Kovu turned and bolted in the direction where Kiara's scent was the strongest with everyone else following. When they reached the spot, Kovu stopped dead as he saw a lioness lying on the ground with her back to him and his heart swelled.

Kiara. She was here. His beloved was here. He swallowed and stepped closer to her. He could scarcely believe his eyes. After three lonely days without his mate, Kovu felt as though a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He stepped closer and rested his paw on her shoulder.