Any Other World

The sun had just dipped below the western horizon for the evening, and Scar sat at the precipice of Pride Rock to observe the dusk with only faint interest. Another long, hot, and irritable day had come and gone, with no clouds in sight, only continued misery. It was only a matter of time before the pride became so restless, they might question their loyalties. This was Scar's worst nightmare, for what was a king without his subjects? But half of the pride seemed to be younger lions now, incapable of hunting, only taking more and more from the older ones. This was, of course, Scar's own fault, and though his desire for a perfect son remained unmet, he seemed to have lost interest in trying to create more. Nuka had been the final disappointment, and with Mheetu gone, Scar's outlook was bleak.

The beauty of the sunset was lost on the russet lion as if glowed a deep scarlet, like a fire, before fading into shades of indigo and fuchsia. All of the sunsets in the world could not improve Scar's mood. Mheetu had been missing for several days, and the air in then den at Pride Rock was thick with tension. Even the most mild-mannered of lionesses were now struggling to remain calm as the situation in the once great kingdom continued to grow worse. Tempers often flared, the whines of his numerous progeny too much for the king to stand, and his treatment of his cubs had grown worse.

The cubs would all be going to bed soon, but Scar would still remain where he sat perched, lost to his own dark thoughts. One would imagine a king to be the happiest in the land, but he was full of melancholy that evening, a trait that had lingered within the lion from a very early age. After all of the scheming and plotting it had taken to get this far, Scar still felt empty and alone, never the adored king that his brother had been years ago.

Kifu had had a busy day that was for certain. He’d done everything in his normal routine such as playing with his elder sisters and practicing his pouncing. But he did have to admit that something was bugging him in the back of his mind. Lately the entire pride had seemed like it was on edge about a lioness called Zira’s new cub, Nuka. He knew that he now had a half-brother, which he supposed he liked but to Kifu it felt odd that he now wasn’t the youngest of Scar’s cubs anymore. Deciding to ask his father about some of the pride matters at hand, the young prince would ask tonight.

It was sunset now in the Pridelands, and there Scar was, out on the edge of Pride Rock which was where Kifu usually saw his father most of the time anyway. ”D..Dad?” he asked meekly as he padded up behind him. ”Can I ask you something?” Now at this point Kifu had two options. One was to just make it quick and let Scar get back to his duties, and the other was to go into lengthy detail about what he had picked up gossip wise from various pride members about the situation. Deciding to go with the first option, the young cub sat down at his father’s side and awaited his answer.

Scar's ear flicked back at the sound of someone approaching. He wasn't in the mood to deal with another hungry, whining lioness, but when he glanced over his shoulder, it was his own young son coming to sit beside him. It was obvious the cub was fearful of his father, and given Scar's recent behavior, it was no wonder. Tasa was usually the scapegoat of the king's rage against his progeny, but occasionally, it was Kifu that seemed to anger Scar. But that day, the russet lion did not attempt to walk away, nor did he lash out at the boy for approaching him during his moment of quiet contemplation. "Yes, son?"

Technically, Kifu had not been the youngest cub for some time, since Uma had been born a few weeks after Heshima's litter. But even little Uma was now larger than poor Kifu, who, despite getting more than his fair share of the meat to help him grow stronger, still seemed stunted in his growth. Scar was silent as his son sat down beside him, looking down at the top of his head wear his dark mane was already beginning to sprout. Without Mheetu, this scrawny runt of a cub was the oldest son Scar had, and could very well be his best option when it came to an heir. The thought made him sigh aloud. Why had the lionesses failed him so many times? One decent heir was all Scar had wanted, but it seemed he would never achieve his ultimate goal of immortality.

The russet cub didn't know exactly how to begin. "How come everybody's acting all weird?" Surely, Scar would know what was going on within the pride but just in case he didn't he'd spell it out for him. "Mheetu's gone and somebody had another cub...I heard it's small though, like me." he giggled slightly at the last part finding it amusing that another cub was scrawny just as he was.

"Why are they acting like that?" he inquired as his emerald eyes fell upon his father's tall yet slender figure. ”Can we go find Mheetu and bring him back? He might be hurt or..or.” Kifu try as he might wasn’t able to get the last word of the sentence out to complete his thought. The very thought scared him. He was only just a little older than he was. ”I wonder if his mom is sad..” he said quietly. He didn’t know Sarafina at all but that still didn’t make him wonder about her and if she was alright emotionally. To be honest, Kifu kinda of felt an odd connection with Mheetu. Sure they didn't play together very often but he was another male besides his father that he could look up to and ask for advice if he ever needed it.

Scar found himself unable to answer his son's honest questions for a long, silent pause. What could he tell the impressionable youngster? Certainly, he could not be told the truth, for even Scar wasn't certain what was right or not any longer. "Sometimes grown ups get stressed out. These are difficult times we are facing, and some others believe that we will not survive. But we're lions! Lions always come out on top." He gave a curt nod, as if to emphasize his point. Yes, Nuka is small like you. Nuka doesn't have three sisters though, so it's strange." There was no use dwelling on it, and yet Scar just couldn't help himself.

"We are looking for Mheetu. The hyenas are out there searching for him right now." Scar himself had taken the initiative at first and had attempted to look for the missing cub, but he felt it was Sarafina's duty. She was the one who lost him, it was her responsbility to now find him again. When Kifu mentioned Mheetu's mom being sad, Scar growled faintly. "I highly doubt that she is." It was hard for the king to believe that once upon a time, many years ago, he and Sarafina had found some sense of comfort and love together. Life had changed too much since that time, and now Scar could barely look at the pale lioness without feeling enraged.

"Let Mheetu serve as a warning, of why it is not safe to wander off. First he was attacked by a rogue, and now..." His words trailed off into contemplative silence. It was entirely possible that the cub was now dead, which is what Scar assumed, though he would not admit that his oldest son could now be nothing more than a mangled corpse left to rot on the savannah. Any of his neighbors would likely make a swift end of any of the royal Pridelander cubs. The drums of war were faint but it was only a matter of time.

"Oh..." he replied as if he already know. A few moments of silence passed between the two as Kifu looked out at the horizon. "When I'm King...I'm gonna make sure nobody will run away, because I'll be nice to them and they'll like me." he said simply trying to start up another conversation with Scar. The question had to be popped sooner or later in time and right now seemed like the ideal moment. ”Dad? What are you gonna be when I’m king?” he asked. Of course why wouldn’t Scar make Kifu his heir? He’s small like Scar was when he was a youngster just like Kifu was. They had a lot in common. Alright, maybe not that much but at least it’s still something. ”Does this mean I can’t go out and play anymore?” If Scar replied negatively to Kifu’s question, he wouldn’t know what to do. Playing is a part of a cub’s development and so is exploring.

What good would it do, being nice to one's subjects? The russet ruler of the Pridelands peered down at his son with the small shake of a head. Did Kifu mean to imply that his father's methods, just the opposite of what the cub would do, were somehow failing? In Scar's mind, the only way to keep the pride where they were was to force them to stay, and he didn't see how being nice would benefit his needs. "Try being nice and the pride will abandon you, or replace you."

Scar snorted in response to Kifu's question about what title Scar would hold once Kifu became king, if ever such a day arrived. "I'll be dead," he stated matter-of-factly to the cub. If the cub had a more devious mind, Scar likely would have kept this sentiment to himself. But the boy had not inherited his father's dark heart or twisted thoughts. He was much too kind-hearted. Though he was small like Scar had been as a youngster, his brain clearly worked very differently.

"A prince should not worry about playing so much. What you need is training. Has your mother begun to teach you anything? Any useful skills?" He arched a brow questioningly, though he doubted Heshima had done any such thing, and it was unlikely she would be able to start teaching him anything any time soon, with an unwanted litter on the way. All the training in the world would never give Kifu the physique of a strong, well-built lion. It simply wasn't in his genes, but Scar refused to see it that way. With Mheetu unaccounted for and Nuka just as miniscule as his half-brother, maybe Kifu really was Scar's best option after all. What a disappointing thought.