Scar x Zira: The Lost Heir

Chapter Forty-One

A few weeks passed, and murmuring about Kito and Najia finally started to die down.
They'd stayed near each other's side constantly for a week, then they decided to go their separate ways. It was a mutual parting; Kito didn't want to be tied down and Najia wanted to spend more time with friends. They were still good friends, but they hardly tried to seek each other out.
Scar and Zira learned of his encounter with Najia days after the incident. He expected them to be furious at him for staying out with some strange lioness, but instead they congratulated him. Scar even told him that he was finally becoming the King he knew he could be. Kito wasn't sure if he felt proud or nauseous from his praise.
Nala also learned about him and Najia, and she wouldn't talk to him for days even when he talked directly to her.
She's just jealous.
Instead of talking to her he continued to hang out with the hyenas. He briefly told them about it and they just laughed and shrugged it off. That's what he loved about them; they always laughed and shrugged stuff off. It really wasn't that important to him anyway. It was a week of fun, that was all. Najia knew that. So did the hyenas.
He lazed around with Lindia and Moyo lying around him in the shade of an acacia tree. Lindia rested her head on his stomach and Moyo sprawled his front legs across Kito's hind legs. They were just a heap of fur lying in the shade.
Kito heard paw steps and he lifted his head only slightly to see who it was. He was shocked to see Nala looking down at him, but he didn't move from the ground.
She's probably going to be disgusted about my friends and she'll just walk away. Per usual.
When she didn't walk away he slowly wiggled out from the heap to face her. He stood up, eye to eye with the lioness.
She sighed as she looked him in the eye.
"I knew you'd probably be here with them. I'm glad you are."
There was a long pause, and Kito waited impatiently for her to say something more.
"I just wanted to apologize to you. I've been a terrible friend lately. I may not agree with some of your choices, but you're still my friend. I can't give you the cold shoulder all the time. That's not who I am," she exclaimed.
Kito stared blankly at her. The last thing he'd ever expected was an apology from her. She'd been treating him like elephant dung for the past few weeks.
"I-thank you, Nala. That means a lot to me. I-I guess I haven't been making the best choices lately. I'm not perfect."
Suddenly he heard someone get up behind him and Lindia came up by his side.
"How can you come sauntering up to Kito and just apologize like nothin' ever happened?! Listen here, princess! You hurt Kito, and-"
He shoved her with his shoulder as he let out a low growl. She stopped talking, but she still ended up muttering under her breath.
Nala sighed.
"Yeah, I know I hurt Kito. I'm honestly glad that you two have been here to keep him company. I thought you were mangy mongrels, but maybe you aren't all that bad," she said.
Lindia growled, but she seemed to back off after that.
"So do you want to go for a walk or something? They can come along, too, if you want," Nala offered.
Kito grinned.
"Sure. You wanna come along, guys?" he asked, turning slightly to glance over at the hyenas.
"Aw hell, why not? We have nothin' better to do!" Moyo cackled, trotting over to stand beside his sister.
"Alright then. To the water hole, Nala?"
A small grin appeared on her face.
"That sounds great, Kito."

The small group walked and chatted noisily. At least, the hyenas made most of the noise. They shoved each other playfully and Lindia pinned Moyo once or twice. Nala and Kito took the time to catch up, since they'd hardly talked to each other at all for a while.
"So you and Najia, huh?" Nala asked, shaking her head with a smile, "I never saw that one coming in a million years!"
Kito chuckled to himself.
"It really wasn't that special. I mean, she's nice and everything, but she's just not what I'm looking for."
They both got quiet for a few moments, and suddenly Moyo ran over to try to tackle Kito. The silence was broken with howls of laughter as the two tumbled in the dirt. Unfortunately for the hyena, his friend was getting bigger than him and he was certainly stronger. Kito pinned him down with ease, grinning crookedly down at him as he placed a paw on his chest.
"Hey no fair!" Moyo teased.
"You're the one who tackled me!"
"Yeah, but I was supposed to win!"
They both laughed hysterically, and Kito could even hear Lindia and Nala laughing along. Today was too good to be true.
Which meant it could never last. Suddenly they all heard rustling and paw steps. Scar and Zira appeared, chuckling darkly amongst themselves as they walked away from the direction of the waterhole.
The four teenagers stared at them as the King and Queen realized that they'd stumbled upon their son and his friends.
"Well, if it isn't my strong, wonderful young son," Zira praised, slowly advancing towards him.
Scar fell into step with her and grinned at Kito. Then his glance fell upon Nala and his grin widened.
"A good choice in company, my son. An heir always needs a beautiful, talented lioness at his side."
Nala stiffened under Scar's gaze as she turned her eyes away from Kito.
Lindia and Moyo looked to Kito for some sort of guidance, and Zira's lip twitched slightly at the sight of them. She shared a quick, sharp glance with Scar.
"And how could we forget our son's dearest friends? Loyal, and heirs in their own right I suppose. Well, the clan must be missing such fine young hyenas in its hunting parties right now..."
He raised his brow when they didn't leave.
"The clan isn't hunting today," Lindia said, trying her best to be polite.
"Ah."
"Don't you have other friends you could go play with?" Zira growled, her nerves quickly thinning.
Kito sidestepped in front of his two friends.
"Why can't you just leave them alone? They're not bothering you," he said stubbornly.
Zira and Scar watched him silently for a moment. Then Scar put on what Kito knew to be a fake smile, and he turned his gaze upon the hyenas.
"I suppose not. Carry on then."
He nudged Zira with his shoulder and she grudgingly continued walking. Her lip twitched and she bared a few of her teeth at his friends.
Lindia resisted the urge to snarl back at her while Moyo just lowered his head.
When his parents were gone, Kito turned to the hyenas and Nala.
"Well that was... unexpected," she said.
"Yeah no kiddin'" Lindia said.
"Your parents always freak me out, Kito. No joke," Moyo said.
Kito shook his head and laughed quietly to himself. It wasn't his carefree, usual laugh. It was tense with anger and frustration. Everyone's fur went on end as he continued to laugh, and it slowly got louder and louder until he was roaring hysterically.
"Kito!" Nala and Lindia cried.
Lindia took a step forward and gave him a smack in the face with her paw. Kito shook his head and his hysteric laughter faded. He looked at Lindia as if he had just woken from a dream.
"I'm sorry," he whispered, "They drive me crazy. All I want is friends I can rely on, and my father is nothing but a hypocrite..."
"I know," Lindia said quietly, putting a paw on his shoulder.
"I hate this! I don't want to lose it in front of you guys!" he roared, raking his claws across the dirt.
"We understand how hard it is, Kito. Your parents aren't exactly the best role models around," Nala said.
His eyes met hers and she nearly gasped at the look in them. They were hard and bright like diamonds, as if a fire within him had suddenly been lit.
"But they're my parents, and the rulers of the Pridelands. They must know what they're doing if that's the case," he growled.
The siblings exchanged a look. Nala shook her head.
"No, they don't. I hate to say it Kito, but you wouldn't be like this if they knew what they were doing. The Pridelands wouldn't have so many herds migrating farther away if they knew what they were doing. They're a plague on these lands."
"You can't just go around spewing those words about them. They're trying their best the only way they know how."
"Are they, Kito?"
Nala's words hung in the air for a long time. He glared at her for a while, then he spoke in a low, cautious tone.
"Listen, they may not be the best King and Queen, but I'm sure they're not the worst. They're doing what they believe is best as rulers and I think we should give them a chance. Besides, I can learn from their mistakes."
"Let's just drop it for now," Lindia growled, intervening for both of their sakes.
Nala hesitated and glanced over at Lindia before turning her attention back to Kito.
"Sure, we'll drop it. For now," she said.
He nodded once in agreement.
"Okay. Should we finish our walk to the water hole?" Lindia asked both of them.
They both nodded slowly and the small group continued on their walk.