BRAVESPIRIT ~ A Lion King Fanfiction

Chapter 2: Young

The egret found it easy to keep up with Koda as he scampered down Pride rock, who was greatly anticipating seeing his best friend again.

"Malaika! Malaika!" He called out as he approached a large group of young lionesses, now blushing as he had their full, undivided attention, some looked surprised, some chuckled, and even a few looked irritated.

"Koda?" A young feminine voice spoke from underneath the paws of a powerful youthful lioness, slowly exposing a cream colored, blue eyed, lioness cub. She stumbled out of her mother's paws, making her way over to her friend who was a few tail lengths away.

"What's up?"

"You wanna go on a walk with me?" He asked enthusiastically.

"Koda are you foolish! It's way to hot for two cubs to venture off alone!" The older lioness retorted.

"My apologies Aunt Matumaini, it's just that the weather is perfectly fine. The sun has just risen and we have a few more hours till it's at the peak of its path." Koda said, trying to appear as confident as possible.

"The weather is ok mom, the sun has barely begun its journey!" Malaika calls to her mother as she rushes to join Koda and they take off into the wilderness outside of pride rock, leaving the lioness in their dust.

"I'll be damned because of those kids one day. *sigh..."

"I'll keep an eye on them, Matumaini." Ono said as he took to the air, following the two young cubs as they disappeared into the plains.

"...she gets it from her grandfather." Another lioness heaves as the new lioness mother lays back down on her paws to rest, while watching the cubs scamper away, disappearing in the tall grass.

"I know, and that's what concerns me." She breathes as her eyes close once again.

The cubs ran straight through the tall grass, tripping over branches and rocks, seemingly playing chase with the lionesses that never followed them. It wasn't long until their little hearts need a break, and they rested on a boulder resting over the watering hole.

"You think we lost them?" Malaika questioned as she leaped her front paws on Koda's shoulders so she could get a look behind them. "Oh I'm sure we're fine, besides, we didn't venture off that far, what could possibly go wrong?.. Whoa..!"

Malaika's figure suddenly collided with Koda's sending the two cubs over the edge and into the watering hole. As soon as the water calms, Malaika's slim figure surfaced as she quickly swam back and climbed onto a nearby ledge, turning her attention back to Koda as he swam for what seemed like dear life. She couldn't help but silently chuckle at his struggle to swim, knowing he would catch up to her on land.

As she took a rest to shake herself off though, she turned her attention back to the water just to find the pond had calmed yet again from her recent tussle. Her muzzle taking to the air, looking for any clue as to where her companion had disappeared. The quiet sound of pawsteps catches her attention from over the tall grass, though very faint it had to be him. She inches closer, trying her hardest to smell or see what is ahead of her. She cranes her head through the grass, trying to gage her pouncing range,

"Roar!" Koda yells as he blindsides his best friend, tackling her and pinning her underneath his weight.

"I think someone owes me an 'I'm sorry'." Koda smirked at the lioness cub trapped under his paws.

"In your dreams!" She laughed as she tried to flip herself over, only exposing he flank to get relentlessly tickled by her captor.

"Say it!" Koda demanded,

"No!... Stop.. Please..!" Malaika begs to no avail, she loved playing with Koda, and though she would never admit it, she enjoyed being this close to him.

"Not until you say it." Koda suddenly dropped his voice sounding much more confident, and to Malaika, this intrigued her to say the least.

"Ok..! I'm sorry!..." she finally fessed up, as Koda loosened his grip and began letting her up.

His attention suddenly shifts to a sudden flash of white in the bushes behind his friend.

"Get down!" He whispers harshly as he tackles Malaika to the ground as she tried to get up, causing the cubs to tumble down a small decline. Flopping on the ground leaving Koda awkwardly landing his chest on top of Malaika's so their eyes lock in an intense stare. Both cubs blushed furiously as they realized their predicament, only for Malaika to try and speak up, but only able to let out an innocent giggle. Koda tried as he could to contain his embarrassment from their new break in their boundaries, but found it difficult as he got lost in her teal eyes.

Koda turns his gaze to beyond the tall grass that bordered the watering hole, slowly standing back up and inching ever so slowly to the grass with his friend not an inch behind him.

A creature leaped forward through the brush toward Koda as he and Malaika both jolted back in fear from what they perceived as an attacker. Both however quickly recognized the orange beak and pale feathers.

"Ono, you scared us!" Malaika mewed.

"Yeah! What gives?" Koda complained.

"Oh don't mind me, I'm just keeping an eye on you two." He motions for Koda to come closer. He complies, putting his ear to the egrets beak.

"You'll have to do a lot better than that to loose track of the Pridelands keenest of sight." He chuckled. Koda reared his head back in frustration when Ono gave a flirtatious grin to the two young cubs.

Howls and barks of an unfamiliar animal flood the air as Ono's teasing look quickly changed to that of fear, all while the two cubs look confused at his sudden change in tone. All three slowly crane their heads to the distance, seeing strange spiraling clouds of dust moving in the wind.

"We have to get back to pride rock." Ono objects the silence with a grim look in his eyes, and his beak cast downward.