The Lion King: Time of Kopa

Chapter 18: Siblings

^Art is not mine^

Nuka walked limply towards the border, young Vitani skipping close behind. Her opinion of her brother was still quite high, as he was easier on her and more tolerant of her antics.

A smile was broad on Vitani's face as she chased Nuka's swaying tail. She discovered that she loved to play with tails. Nuka rolled his eyes but didn't say anything. He actually found her playfulness quite amusing.

In all honesty, the only thing keeping Nuka from either killing Vitani or ditching her was Zira. She would surely kill him for doing so, despite her own hatred for her daughter. Nuka thought this over. If Zira hated Vitani so much then why wasn't she just ridding her?

There was only one explanation. Zira loved her. There was an unbreakable mother-daughter bond. No amount of hatred could completely destroy that. Nuka sighed deeply as he sat down next to his favorite hill.

It was at this hill that he always found himself ranting. The hill wasn't very tall; it was a few feet taller than Nuka himself. Nuka took a deep breath of the dusty air and nearly choked. Even so, the air here was fresher than that around the den.

Nuka clenched his eyes shut and tried to relax. He was normally alone when he came here, but a simple tug on his tail reminded him that he was anything but alone. He opened his eyes and bared his teeth, looking back at Vitani.

Without judgement of the little cub, Nuka collapsed on the ground and exhaled loudly. His head rested between his forelegs. Clouds of dust surrounded him from his sudden plop. He heard Vitani coughing and couldn't help but smile slightly.

Once the dust cleared, Vitani looked out into the distance. She saw actual grass, something that was incredibly difficult to find in the Outlands. Vitani stared in awe at the beautiful landscape. Nuka noticed how quiet she was being, and enjoyed the silence.

" Nuka?" Vitani kept her eyes on the grassy land ahead.

Her older brother ignored her completely. Vitani didn't notice it. She turned around and ran up the hill. At its peak, she stood tall and faced the grasslands.

" Is that the Pridelands?" Vitani asked, tilting her head.

Nuka lifted his head and followed Vitani's line of sight. He already knew it was the Pridelands, but was surprised that Vitani knew what it was. Nuka considered this startling discovery. Surely Zira never mentioned the Pridelands to Vitani, she could hardly look at her daughter.

Nuka put his head back down and hesitated.

" Yes... how did you know?" He asked.

Nuka found himself being calm and kind to Vitani, and he actually didn't mind it. He felt that she wasn't all that bad. A little annoying at times, but all cubs are.

" One of the lionesses from our pride told me about them," Vitani replied, sitting down.

" Does Mother know?"

Vitani's mood suddenly changed at the mention of Zira. Her eyes went down in guilt.

" Yeah... she knows," her voice was full of shame.

Nuka mumbled something indecipherable. Vitani rolled down the hill, landing next to Nuka's underside. She looked at his dark face.

" Let's go over there!" Vitani giggled.

Nuka lifted his head and shook it quickly.

" No, we can't. Mother would kill us."

" Oh, come on, Nuka! It'll be fun!" Vitani argued.

Nuka snarled," No!"

Vitani's face went from excited to angry in a split second," Fine!"

At that, she turned and walked behind Nuka, finding a place between the base of the hill and his lower back. Due to her size, she was able to easily squeeze into a comfortable position. She rested her head on Nuka's side and sighed. Nuka closed his eyes as the corners of his mouth slightly turned up into a satisfied, crooked grin.

At least it's silent again.