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From what Kovu understood, the funeral would be happening in the next few days. The king's bird had flown in the midst of their mourning and delivered confirmation that the residents of the Pridelands had indeed been made aware of the funeral arrangements and would be arriving. He was stunned to discover that the funeral was not just limited to the pride, but the entire kingdom would be in attendance. Even word of allies beyond the borders would be in attendance. Then again it did make some sense to him. Properly grieving the dead seemed to be taken seriously here and considering Sarabi's role as previous queen and the relationships she made during her life he could see why this would be a massive event.

As the sun set again on his last day, the deadline which he had been expected to conquer this kingdom in, Kovu was simultaneously numb and in emotional turmoil. He had accepted that he was a dirty traitor to his pride and family, but he felt extremely guilty about leaving them to suffer. Part of him felt justified in doing as the throb on the side of his face indicated, but he knew without him his mother's anger and attention would be more focused on Vitani and the lionesses who didn't deserve it. Though he felt relived that he managing to avert a worse fate and managed not to go down the greater evil path, he now felt lost and purposeless. Though Simba had shown mercy to him by allowing to stay, his reputation was the warthog's armpit. Constant supervision if he were to go out, limited distance to where he could go, the mistrust and anger of the pride he would have to endure, and Simba had put him back outside until further notice. Though he was happy he was not exiled or killed, he was still upset about all this.

As he walked up the steps, several lionesses following him with judgmental eyes on his back, he whispered a few goodnights to the lionesses who were more inclined to speak to him before resigning himself to the cold night air against a frigid rock. He turned and then froze as he realized that there was someone in his spot, completely ignoring him and looking up towards the night sky.

Biting his lip, Kovu made his way quietly towards him, careful to be calm and composed. Nuka's head and face were still turned to him, even as he went up and laid down next to him. He hissed slightly at the stone platform seeping cold into his underbelly and that caught Nuka's attention. He flinched and swung his head around, but relaxed when he recognized him. His eyes lingered on Kovu's face, no doubt staring at the four, recently-made stripes on his eye. Kovu could barely see out of it, everything was blurry and it stung, but Rafiki had been hopeful about it's outcome.

"You shouldn't have taken off your eye cover," he said, his voice raspy from the sadness. Kovu could see in the little moonlight that Nuka's eyes were glassy and a tear trail stained his cheek.

"It felt uncomfortable and besides my scars need space to breath," he replied.

"Rafiki put it on there so they wouldn't get infected." He shifted his body slightly. "Just because this isn't the Outlands doesn't mean that there's not a chance you'll get sick. And those don't look too good."

"Says you." The tone tried to come out as teasing, but his irritation and tiredness made them come out more as accusatory. He immediately winced and mumbled an apology after the blatant view of all the nasty, massive bruises and scratched finally registered in his brain. Nuka flinched back again, then sighed.

"Yeah I did get the short end of the stick," he said, a bit awkwardly but it was clear he was trying to lighten the atmosphere with some humor. Kovu just stared guilty at his paws.

"Do you know about the Great Kings of the Past?" His ears perked up. "Yeah, apparently when we die our spirits go up to the night sky and become the stars above and the kings become the biggest and brightest ones that help guide us." Kovu's brows furrowed, he'd never heard anything like this before. All he was taught about dying growing up was when you died, that's it. Nothing else.

His head circled up and looked at the night sky, a brilliant cloth of dark blue velvet with twinkling diamonds. The Outlands with all it's dusty air never could show off the full beauty of the night sky and he never realized that there were this many stars. He thought of what Nuka had said and he did feel a bit soothed by the idea. It was a nice thought to think that a lion's soul became one of the stars when they passed and would make the world more beautiful. Like that something remained and you weren't condemned to be forgotten for the rest of time.

"So Sarabi's up there? As a star?" he asked, still not taking his eyes off of them.

"I think queens and lionesses just make up the night sky itself. They're the ones that make up and hold the pride together, so they make up the sky and hold the stars in place, making them shine better." It felt a bit strange and unfair that Sarabi was the sky instead of a star, especially since she seemed like such a bright soul in the lives of those around her, but again it did make sense. Sarabi seemed very supportive and wanted to help others out. If she was part of the night sky, she was just doing her part to bring more light and comfort to the world. That was nice.

Then his mind suddenly got a much darker thought, one he did not want to share, but his mouth seemed to be disconnected to the more rational part of his brain now.

"Do you think Scar's up there?"

Nuka stilled, then slowly swung his head to look at him. His expression was blank and yet he seemed like he was withholding a lot of emotions. He close his eyes and shut them tightly before opening them, revealing a somber look. His jaw seemed to clench as he spoke in a low tone.

"Scar... he-he had a darkness that he couldn't escape." His words were slow and careful, as if everything would fall apart if he let his emotions get the best of him. "I don't know where he went after death, though I like to think there's someplace he went. Far, far away from here. Where he can't do anything else."

His words were purposefully vague, though Kovu could sense that if he weren't so restrained he probably would've angrily ranted about how he hoped Scar's spirit was constantly being swallowed up by flames and darkness for all eternity. He could understand why Nuka would want to keep his composure, but why he would almost appear to be defending Scar from his true feelings confused him greatly.

"Scar... wasn't a good father. I know I wasn't the most promising kid, though," his breath seemed to hitch. "Though I would've liked it if he didn't try to pretend I didn't exist. If he hadn't ignored me like he did everything and everyone else." He almost seemed to look remorseful for a moment. "I'm not sure why mother liked him so much."

"She does seem to have a questionable taste and view on...things," he offered, trying to emulate the vagueness. Nuka let out a bitter chuckle and nodded.

"Not sure which is worse to be honest." Kovu nodded. He felt a bit better, but he felt something in his chest painfully sting and he painfully realized what it was trying to do.

"I'm sorry Nuka."

When Rafiki was patching him up, Kovu had decided to confess his crimes and the real reason he was here. Nuka was a bit surprised, though his expression had told Kovu that he had been not completely naïve to his story. Nuka hadn't pressed any further after Kovu had been bandaged up and had willingly allowed him to have his useless back limbs carried back to Pride Rock.

"I should've known better, that they were just using me as a tool," he continued. "I can understand if you decide not to trust me."

Nuka was quiet, the night air bereft of any wind, keeping the temperature stable, but the noises of the night near nonexistence. Kovu's head was humbly bowed down, though sprung up in shock when he felt something grab his shoulder. He look up, seeing a small smile on his face and felt the paw squeeze his shoulder tightly, but not painfully.

"With what you went through growing up and with no alternative available, I honestly can't really blame you for not knowing any better. At the very least you were able to recognize the truth before anything dire happened." His smile grew a bit wider. "You saved this pride from going down in flames." He let his paw drop. "You're one of us now. For real."

Kovu tried to smile, but his guilt at leaving his old pride to continue to suffer prevented it. "Just wish there was a way I still could help our old pride." He quickly clarified, "While mother doesn't seem keen on changing anytime soon, I don't think Vitani and the others should suffer for her craziness and anger."

"That's a discussion for another time. One when we're not so exhausted and injured," Nuka replied, trying to break up the lingering emotions again. "Let's get some sleep tonight and we can continue this conversation later."

"D-don't you want to go back inside?" Nuka shrugged as he had placed his head on his paws, obviously planning on settling down outside for the night.

"Meh," he said, already shutting his eyes. "The night air might do my injuries some good."

Kovu couldn't resist. "Gee I don't know, it might be a good idea to keep them covered. Wouldn't want to risk getting an infection," he quipped.

"Oh buzz off, you little termite," Nuka said, not looking at him but still grinning. Kovu chuckled, a real genuine laugh at the old nickname, but he did overall feel more relieved.

With that, a bridge starting closer to being mended, the two brothers rested there heads and were soon overtaken by sleep.

I'll admit, I been watching a lot of Detroit: Become Human gameplay and Kovu and Nuka's dialogue is partially inspired by deviant Connor and Markus' dialogue. Love that game so much. And, of course, there's some reference to the original script with the stars and spirits.

I've been wanting to do this piece for a long time. It was the reconciliation piece I had in mind ever since I did their first reunion piece way back. It's nice to finally get to this point. Also if you notice Nuka's face you may see a scar nicked right into his eyebrow. Nuka and Kovu can now be scar bros.

Nuka, Kovu © The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride © Walt Disney Animation Studios
Art © Vtoony

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From what Kovu understood, the funeral would be happening in the next few days. The king's bird had flown in the midst of their mourning and delivered confirmation that the residents of the Pridelands had indeed been made aware of the funeral arrangements and would be arriving. He was stunned to discover that the funeral was not just limited to the pride, but the entire kingdom would be in attendance. Even word of allies beyond the borders would be in attendance. Then again it did make some sense to him. Properly grieving the dead seemed to be taken seriously here and considering Sarabi's role as previous queen and the relationships she made during her life he could see why this would be a massive event.

As the sun set again on his last day, the deadline which he had been expected to conquer this kingdom in, Kovu was simultaneously numb and in emotional turmoil. He had accepted that he was a dirty traitor to his pride and family, but he felt extremely guilty about leaving them to suffer. Part of him felt justified in doing as the throb on the side of his face indicated, but he knew without him his mother's anger and attention would be more focused on Vitani and the lionesses who didn't deserve it. Though he felt relived that he managing to avert a worse fate and managed not to go down the greater evil path, he now felt lost and purposeless. Though Simba had shown mercy to him by allowing to stay, his reputation was the warthog's armpit. Constant supervision if he were to go out, limited distance to where he could go, the mistrust and anger of the pride he would have to endure, and Simba had put him back outside until further notice. Though he was happy he was not exiled or killed, he was still upset about all this.

As he walked up the steps, several lionesses following him with judgmental eyes on his back, he whispered a few goodnights to the lionesses who were more inclined to speak to him before resigning himself to the cold night air against a frigid rock. He turned and then froze as he realized that there was someone in his spot, completely ignoring him and looking up towards the night sky.

Biting his lip, Kovu made his way quietly towards him, careful to be calm and composed. Nuka's head and face were still turned to him, even as he went up and laid down next to him. He hissed slightly at the stone platform seeping cold into his underbelly and that caught Nuka's attention. He flinched and swung his head around, but relaxed when he recognized him. His eyes lingered on Kovu's face, no doubt staring at the four, recently-made stripes on his eye. Kovu could barely see out of it, everything was blurry and it stung, but Rafiki had been hopeful about it's outcome.

"You shouldn't have taken off your eye cover," he said, his voice raspy from the sadness. Kovu could see in the little moonlight that Nuka's eyes were glassy and a tear trail stained his cheek.

"It felt uncomfortable and besides my scars need space to breath," he replied.

"Rafiki put it on there so they wouldn't get infected." He shifted his body slightly. "Just because this isn't the Outlands doesn't mean that there's not a chance you'll get sick. And those don't look too good."

"Says you." The tone tried to come out as teasing, but his irritation and tiredness made them come out more as accusatory. He immediately winced and mumbled an apology after the blatant view of all the nasty, massive bruises and scratched finally registered in his brain. Nuka flinched back again, then sighed.

"Yeah I did get the short end of the stick," he said, a bit awkwardly but it was clear he was trying to lighten the atmosphere with some humor. Kovu just stared guilty at his paws.

"Do you know about the Great Kings of the Past?" His ears perked up. "Yeah, apparently when we die our spirits go up to the night sky and become the stars above and the kings become the biggest and brightest ones that help guide us." Kovu's brows furrowed, he'd never heard anything like this before. All he was taught about dying growing up was when you died, that's it. Nothing else.

His head circled up and looked at the night sky, a brilliant cloth of dark blue velvet with twinkling diamonds. The Outlands with all it's dusty air never could show off the full beauty of the night sky and he never realized that there were this many stars. He thought of what Nuka had said and he did feel a bit soothed by the idea. It was a nice thought to think that a lion's soul became one of the stars when they passed and would make the world more beautiful. Like that something remained and you weren't condemned to be forgotten for the rest of time.

"So Sarabi's up there? As a star?" he asked, still not taking his eyes off of them.

"I think queens and lionesses just make up the night sky itself. They're the ones that make up and hold the pride together, so they make up the sky and hold the stars in place, making them shine better." It felt a bit strange and unfair that Sarabi was the sky instead of a star, especially since she seemed like such a bright soul in the lives of those around her, but again it did make sense. Sarabi seemed very supportive and wanted to help others out. If she was part of the night sky, she was just doing her part to bring more light and comfort to the world. That was nice.

Then his mind suddenly got a much darker thought, one he did not want to share, but his mouth seemed to be disconnected to the more rational part of his brain now.

"Do you think Scar's up there?"

Nuka stilled, then slowly swung his head to look at him. His expression was blank and yet he seemed like he was withholding a lot of emotions. He close his eyes and shut them tightly before opening them, revealing a somber look. His jaw seemed to clench as he spoke in a low tone.

"Scar... he-he had a darkness that he couldn't escape." His words were slow and careful, as if everything would fall apart if he let his emotions get the best of him. "I don't know where he went after death, though I like to think there's someplace he went. Far, far away from here. Where he can't do anything else."

His words were purposefully vague, though Kovu could sense that if he weren't so restrained he probably would've angrily ranted about how he hoped Scar's spirit was constantly being swallowed up by flames and darkness for all eternity. He could understand why Nuka would want to keep his composure, but why he would almost appear to be defending Scar from his true feelings confused him greatly.

"Scar... wasn't a good father. I know I wasn't the most promising kid, though," his breath seemed to hitch. "Though I would've liked it if he didn't try to pretend I didn't exist. If he hadn't ignored me like he did everything and everyone else." He almost seemed to look remorseful for a moment. "I'm not sure why mother liked him so much."

"She does seem to have a questionable taste and view on...things," he offered, trying to emulate the vagueness. Nuka let out a bitter chuckle and nodded.

"Not sure which is worse to be honest." Kovu nodded. He felt a bit better, but he felt something in his chest painfully sting and he painfully realized what it was trying to do.

"I'm sorry Nuka."

When Rafiki was patching him up, Kovu had decided to confess his crimes and the real reason he was here. Nuka was a bit surprised, though his expression had told Kovu that he had been not completely naïve to his story. Nuka hadn't pressed any further after Kovu had been bandaged up and had willingly allowed him to have his useless back limbs carried back to Pride Rock.

"I should've known better, that they were just using me as a tool," he continued. "I can understand if you decide not to trust me."

Nuka was quiet, the night air bereft of any wind, keeping the temperature stable, but the noises of the night near nonexistence. Kovu's head was humbly bowed down, though sprung up in shock when he felt something grab his shoulder. He look up, seeing a small smile on his face and felt the paw squeeze his shoulder tightly, but not painfully.

"With what you went through growing up and with no alternative available, I honestly can't really blame you for not knowing any better. At the very least you were able to recognize the truth before anything dire happened." His smile grew a bit wider. "You saved this pride from going down in flames." He let his paw drop. "You're one of us now. For real."

Kovu tried to smile, but his guilt at leaving his old pride to continue to suffer prevented it. "Just wish there was a way I still could help our old pride." He quickly clarified, "While mother doesn't seem keen on changing anytime soon, I don't think Vitani and the others should suffer for her craziness and anger."

"That's a discussion for another time. One when we're not so exhausted and injured," Nuka replied, trying to break up the lingering emotions again. "Let's get some sleep tonight and we can continue this conversation later."

"D-don't you want to go back inside?" Nuka shrugged as he had placed his head on his paws, obviously planning on settling down outside for the night.

"Meh," he said, already shutting his eyes. "The night air might do my injuries some good."

Kovu couldn't resist. "Gee I don't know, it might be a good idea to keep them covered. Wouldn't want to risk getting an infection," he quipped.

"Oh buzz off, you little termite," Nuka said, not looking at him but still grinning. Kovu chuckled, a real genuine laugh at the old nickname, but he did overall feel more relieved.

With that, a bridge starting closer to being mended, the two brothers rested there heads and were soon overtaken by sleep.

I'll admit, I been watching a lot of Detroit: Become Human gameplay and Kovu and Nuka's dialogue is partially inspired by deviant Connor and Markus' dialogue. Love that game so much. And, of course, there's some reference to the original script with the stars and spirits.

I've been wanting to do this piece for a long time. It was the reconciliation piece I had in mind ever since I did their first reunion piece way back. It's nice to finally get to this point. Also if you notice Nuka's face you may see a scar nicked right into his eyebrow. Nuka and Kovu can now be scar bros.

Nuka, Kovu © The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride © Walt Disney Animation Studios
Art © Vtoony