Other Side of the World

It was still morning in the Pridelands, and the day was growing hotter by the minute. It seemed every day was the same: long, hot, and miserable. Scar had left Pride Rock earlier in the day for his usual rounds, his best excuse for getting away from the rest of the pride. Even Zira's company was not welcome that day, and Scar now lazed beside the watering hole, resting comfortably on his side beneath the scarce shade of an acacia tree. He had always preferred to spend his time alone, and as he aged, he relished his solitude. It was harder to find nowadays, with so many cubs demanding his attention and a pride of hungry, discontent lionesses.

Would there come a time when Scar felt satisfied with his brood? It seemed unlikely, as each cub that was born in the Pridelands seemed to disappoint the russet king. He had more daughters than he knew what to do with, while his sons were inadequate, in one way or another. His hopes now lie with Zira, his new queen. The pride lionesses had been shocked when Scar had announced he had finally taken a queen, and speechless when they learned who he had chosen. Few of the lionesses liked Zira, who was seen as cold and calculating. For Scar, she was perfect. Zira possessed traits that Sarafina, Heshima, and Kimbilia had not, and he hoped she would give him the son he so desired.

His tail flicked idly as he stared into his image, rippling the water. His green eyes focused on the scar that covered one, and he scowled at the sight. Years had passed since an adolescent Taka had received the wound from an angry buffalo, but the fateful day was still fresh in his memory. What would life had been like, had he never become Scar? It was impossible to know, and Scar scowled at his own refection as he pushed the idea from his mind. He had grown up to be king, regardless, not as Taka, but as Scar. Suddenly, he heard the sound of grass rustling behind him, and he turned his head to see who had intruded upon his quiet time.

A long, exasperated sigh parted Scar's lips as he stared down at little Uma, his youngest cub for the time being. She was the only one who didn't have a mother, with Kimbilia assumed to be destroyed by the hyenas now. Though Heshima had offered to watch for the little russet female, the lioness had her paws full already with four cubs of her own. It was becoming more common for a cub to slip away from the safety of Pride Rock, and inevitably, they all seemed to find their father, despite his efforts to avoid them.

"Uma," he started slowly, his voice grave. He rather liked the sound of her name, and she was the only cub whose moniker had been bestowed by her father. Then, he asked the obvious question that Uma had anticipated. "Why are you out here on your own?" He rose to his paws with another soft sigh, turning in the direction of Pride Rock. While he was not ready to deal with the lionesses that waited back at the den, he was equally unwilling to watch his own cub. It was the duty of a lioness to watch the youngest members of the pride.

Did Scar pity Uma for being motherless? No, Scar felt little pity for anyone other than himself. Still, he did not hold the sins of her mother against the cub... Not yet, anyway. Uma was still young, still innocent, but that trait often did not last for long in the Pridelands. "Come, you know it's not safe to wander away from the rest of the pride." He then walked in the direction Uma had just come, stepping right over the cub rather than picking her up to carry her back home.

"You're big enough to handle yourself against a hyena? I highly doubt that, dear." Scar's canine accomplices had been warned to leave their king's offspring alone, but there was no telling what a hungry hyena could do in an act of desperation. He thought scaring the cub a little would keep her in line. Wasn't that what parenting is all about? See, he wasn't as terrible of a father as everyone seemed to think. He cast a smirk in Uma's direction before continuing towards the stone monument the pride called home.

Well, at least this cub actually followed when he asked her too, and he nodded briefly in response to her inquiry about it being an order. "Hasn't Heshima taught you anything? Cubs who wander off on their own often don't live to be adults," he stated matter-of-factly, and it wasn't exactly a lie. When Scar had been young himself, cubs could play freely in the Pridelands without fear. Their mothers could always keep an eye on them from Pride Rock, no matter how far they wandered within the territory. It had been the same when Simba was still around, but during Scar's reign, the Pridelands was no longer a safe haven for young lions.

"We wouldn't want to lose you." Scar was beginning to realize how valuable it could be in the future to have so many daughters. They were of royal lineage, and any lion would surely kill to take one for a mate someday. Scar would never allow another to take what belonged to him... Unless, of course, they were willing to pay for it. Perhaps a neighboring king could benefit from having a princess for a mate, when Scar's female children were old enough someday, and would be willing to trade the demented king something else in return for one of his daughters. More likely, he would watch them closely once they reached maturity, and kill any lion that looked at his girls the wrong way. He had a legacy to protect now.

Uma readily admitted that she didn't bother to listen to Heshima's lectures, and though it was naughty behavior, her honesty made her father chuckle softly. The cub could not contain her curiosity, and prattled off a number of questions without allowing Scar an opportunity to answer one before posing the next. He looked back to see the cub trip, and he slowed to a stop to allow her a chance to catch up. "It is dangerous for a cub to wander alone. There could be predators, or worse: enemies of the Pridelands who would love to get rid of one of the royal cubs."

Her next question was more difficult to answer, however. Uma had never asked about her mother before, and Scar had not yet thought of how he would handle the situation when it arose. Well, now she wanted to know, and the king couldn't very well tell her the truth. The cub probably would not react well to know that her mother was gone because of her father's decision to have her destroyed. "Your mother ran away just after you were born." This part of the story was fact, but he left out the ending of the tale. He glanced over his shoulder from time to time to make certain she was still trailing behind him, walking at his normal pace.

Everyone seemed to love to ask Scar what he was doing. Uma's final question seemed to irritated the russet lion. He was tired of giving excuses to his cubs. A king could do whatever he pleased, and if that meant avoiding his subjects on a daily basis, then so be it! "I was testing the water level, to see how much we have left." It seemed a plausible enough reason, and he hoped Uma's curiosity would now be satisfied.

Scar sighed to himself when he saw there was just no chance of walking back to Pride Rock in peace and quiet, and his tail twitched as Uma continued her onslaught of curiosity. "Others are jealous of what we have here. This kingdom is greater than the others. They want what we have." Why else would neighboring territories despise the russet king? Though their water supply was indeed dwindling, Kiume and his Outlanders had even less resources. He viewed them as a pride of desperate rogues who would do anything to come back into his kingdom.

It was only natural that the motherless cub wonder, and so Scar offered his best interpretation. "I don't know why she left, she was simply gone. I assume she was embarrassed for not producing a boy." He felt no need to shelter Uma from the truth, or what he presumed to be the truth. Surely Kimbilia would have remained if she had given birth to a son. The idea that maybe there was a boy, but the lioness had taken it and fled, had occurred to Scar, but his hyenas had given him affirmation that the traitor had been destroyed, and she had been found alone.

"The water is going into the mouths of the animals, naturally. Greedy animals suck it all up, and sometimes lions who don't belong here feel they deserve our water." In truth, much of the water was now evaporating due to the endless heat, but naturally, Scar had to place the blame on outsiders. He perceived threats from the outside world as very real, and he was mistrustful of his neighbors in nearby pride lands. He failed to take notice when Uma got distracted by the insect, never the watchful parent.

((Sorry, just thought we would do something here, cause some trouble XD))

Finally, something that the lion had said seemed to satisfy his daughter. No doubt it was painful to learn that one's mother ran away because of disappointment, but Scar made no attempt to comfort Uma when she fell silent to consider the facts, instead glad that she finally stopped talking. She only commented that it was wrong for intruders to steal from the pride, and Scar nodded once.

Little Uma likely didn't see him agree, for she had suddenly gotten distracted. He had made it several feet before Scar realized the cub was no longer trailing behind him. His ears swiveled backwards, and turned to see her following the frog back in the direction they had just come. Bright green eyes rolled as the cub stalked away from him, but curiously, he did not call out for her to come back. Now, he was curious to see what she would do.

It was the duty of a mother to teach their young how to hunt and stalk, but Uma's instincts had just kicked in. Scar was not about to stop her now, instead padding slowly after her, a safe distance away so that she would continue. His head lowered slightly, waiting to see how she would attack -- or if she would attack the helpless little fellow at all.

The dark lion followed silently, observing the young cub as she continued to stalk the amphibian. Now, Uma's play hunting had brought them all back to the water hole, but Scar's expression remained watchful rather than annoyed. His ears folded back when the russet cub made contact with the water, and he began to step over, in case Uma needed him to scoop her out from the shore. Instead, she reappeared with her prize in tow. Scar sat down as she padded back over, looking a wet, muddy mess, which cause the father to sigh. Oh well, at least she had succeeded.

What Scar had really wanted to see is if the cub's instinct to kill had been awakened within her yet. When she dropped the frog near his feet, Scar nodded, a slow smile spreading across his sharp features. "Indeed. But what must you do now, once you have caught your prey?" His teeth flashed beneath his smile, and he raised a paw to demonstrate how his claws were constantly unsheathed for just such an occasion.

He would allow the cub the chance to destroy the lesser creature in any way she chose. As a cub himself, young Taka had been quite creative when it came to killing the rodents he caught. He would make them suffer first, even though his mother told him it was wrong to do so. Even at a young age, Scar had never been one to show mercy or pity to a suffering creature.