Dusty Dreams

With Scar possibly brooding in his den, Zira took some time away from the rest of the mediocre pride to be alone. Feeling an urge for thirst, she decided to head off to the waterhole. Thankfully seeing no one in sight to annoy her, the stripe-headed lioness hunched down and began to lap up the relieving clear water. Just how much longer would she have to live in such deplorable conditions?! Being Queen of the Pridelands, which was once practically a paradise, now seemed like a joke. She and Scar should be living comfortably without worrying where their next meal would come from, if at all at this rate. Zira had gotten just a little thinner, despite what food she got and her coat wasn't looking any better. It irritated her but she knew better than to complain; the whole Pridelands was full of them.

Lying down after she had her fill, the lioness continued to muse on and hate her life. She should be happy! She had a mate (despite the lack of real affection), a son (who wasn't the ideal heir), she's queen (of a wasteland). Zira just huffed and rested her head on her paws. Part of her wished her brother was here but as that thought came to her, she silently wondered on what Scar would do. 'Possibly run him off like every other male.' No, she couldn't entertain such thoughts of fancy. The queen narrowed her eyes. It was ridiculous. Zira wasn't about to mourn for a past that was gone, not like the lionesses who moped around for a dead king and his son. She was stronger than that. Stronger than them!

Turning her wandering and restless mind to more current events, Zira watched the sky as the clouds passed overhead. If the rains came, the lands would be fertile. The herds would return and she and her king would have a worthy heir. They'd rule the Pridelands for generations! The older lionesses would die off or leave, Scar's reign would be a glorious turning point for them all! An insignificant insect passed over her paw and the queen's daydreaming (or reassurances) were halted. The swelling she had felt in her chest was instantly deflated and the lioness fell back down to earth. Oh who was she fooling? Everything was dependent on a successor in Scar's eyes.

After the conversation with his father, Nuka walked with his head a little taller. His father had outright admitted that Kifu wouldn't make a good king because he was too soft, and then he also let Nuka increase his rations! It was almost as if the dusty russet cub had come into his father's good graces that day. But then, Scar had brought something up that Nuka did not wish to hear. Training. It wasn't that he wanted to train, it was that his mother never seemed to have the initiative to train him! But today, today that would change, for he woulds step up to the plate and take the initiative. He would ask his mother to train him, he wouldn't be left waiting any longer. Unsheathed claws dragged across the barren lands that he called home as he hadn't gotten used to walking with them yet. But he liked the free feeling he had when they were out, so that was that, he would almost never sheath his claws again. And then? He would be more like his father! But he had to come up with a reason for it, he couldn't have them out just to be like his father.

Training, that's it! He could pass it off as a lesson learned in training. Always have your claws out in case something happens? Yeah, that would work. Nuka would make not only his father, but his mother proud too, he would be the best lion in the Pridelands and no one could stop him! Well, except for his parents, they would always be around to tell him what not to do. A thought crossed Nuka's mind, when his father chose his heir, would he spend all his time with that family? What if he chose Kifu over him? Would Scar forget about Nuka or the orphaned Uma in his decision? Even if Nuka's mother was queen, there was always a small safety net, unlike his brothers and sisters, Nuka was the true prince of the Pridelands and no one could take that away from him. Even if his parents had more cubs, he was the first born and he would have the true right to be king. But like his father had said, he didn't care about birth order and much less appearances, so for all Nuka knew he could lose his spot as heir to an unborn sibling. And he would have no idea that he would lose it to who he would.

As Nuka padded to the waterhole, he saw the lanky image of his mother laying at the edge of the watering hole. He smiled and an extra spring was in his step as he approached the tawny lioness. She looked depressed so he approached slower than he normally would. Who had hurt his mother to make her so sad? As he approached his maternal parent he smiled, "Good afternoon mother," the cub's politeness was kept to a high level, but when wasn't it? He nuzzled her striped head softly and smiled, a worried look on his face, "Mother, who has made you sad? You're the queen of an amazing land, you shouldn't be sad," The cub smiled and sat down in front of his mother, eager to tell her of the news that his father had increased his rations. His tail flicked a few times and his claws were still unsheathed. A small grin crossed his face, one that was similar to his own father's, "Mother you'll be so proud of me, I have wonderful news!" Finally Nuka would be able to become strong, strong enough to protect his mother and his father and all of his family. Finally he would have a purpose.

Her silent pondering was then interrupted by none other than Nuka. He came over toward her happier than usual but was then asking questions she didn't feel like answering. Zira raised her head and took another look at her cub, just what could he possibly be so pleased about? "Never you mind, now, what is this wonderful news you are so eager to share?" she asked, putting on a smile of interest. She may be his mother, and in some way, she did care for him, the queen just wished there was something more to do with him. How could Nuka be a worthy heir at all? Train him? Well, he needed to eat more. That was just one of the main problems on getting anything accomplished in the Pridelands. The lack of food and water set back a great many things. What energy they all reserved was quite precious. All in all this whole ordeal was absolutely frustrating!

Waiting patiently for her cub to spill his story, Zira did begin to wonder another thing. Should she risk having more cubs? What were the odds one of them could be suitable for Scar? What lengths did they have to go for a successor? The idea of having the right prince was an all-consuming task. He had to be greater than even his parents expectations. How could Nuka possess any qualities of what they were looking for? Nuka, while still a cub, he was just far too... soft. Of course, this was also partly her own fault; Zira hadn't invested any time in toughening her son up. But even if he was... could Nuka really be of any use to them?

Time of course would tell, even if Nuka wasn't chosen, Zira decided she wasn't going to have a whimpering and sniveling son with no backbone.

The young cub frowned slightly when Zira pushed off all his questions, but she was queen, she was allowed to do that. Nuka stood up and held his head high and puffed his chest out, trying to look bigger and stronger than he actually was with a proud look plastered on his face. "Father has increased my rations mother, I'm going to get much more food now!" Nuka felt that he earned this extra food granted to him although he had done nothing to earn it. The cub slackened his stance slightly and stared into his mother's crimson eyes which matched his own, even though his shined brighter than normal. "I'm going to become stronger mother, so I can protect you, father, and the rest of the pride. I promise you that I won't fail! And?" Nuka bent into his mother to whisper a juicy tidbit that might lighten up her mood. "I think I'm going to be the next king! Father doesn't want girls as a queen and he said that Kifu's too soft. Mheetu's gone and so is Giza, so that leaves only me. Aren't you proud of me mother?" This was the one thing that Nuka vied for more than anything else, praise from either of his parents. Any praise he might of received from Scar was gone due to their confrontation earlier, so now it was only up to Zira to give him the affection that he deserved.

Nuka then proceeded to sit down and cock his head to the right as he smiled at his mother. He noticed for now the striped marking on her head and wondered what he would look like if he had inherited that marking when he was born. Would that just give his father another reason to look down upon him? No, there must be some other reason besides the fact that he looked much like his mother, there just had to be. Was it because Nuka was born scrawny just like his older half-sibling Kifu? Or was there something more? The young cub peered into his mother's crimson eyes and yet he couldn't smile but only look with a slight look of solemness on his face, "Father also told me how he had a brother. What about you mother? Did you also have a brother? Maybe a sister?" Nuka had no idea that he was named after his deceased uncle or that even had an uncle besides the one that his father had told him about. Nuka wasn't gifted any names on his father's deceased family, only that Sarabi who was once a part of it was no longer considered. Nuka thought back to Mheetu, his eldest sibling related in some type of blood. He had an older sister, Nala was it? Who was her father and how was he put into this equation? Or was he put into it at all?

Prince or not, Nuka still had to be a cub and he still had to show some compassion for his parents. The cub stood and padded into the space between his mother's arms and nuzzled the bottom of her chin with his head. He purred slightly and lowered his head, "Sorry for all these questions mother, I'm just curious. If I am some day going to lead this pride, I need to know all that I can correct?"