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Almost instantly Kovu felt he had stepped into a different world. One of no sun, little light, rough, hard surfaces all around, and the constant smell of damp earth. Sure he had grown up sleeping and living in termite mounds, but there were more differences then he expected. The termite mounds were always dry, hot, and crawling with termites, with plenty of visible open areas and crannies, as well as opening in the ceiling which let the air flow in, if not made sleeping during cold nights near impossible. Point was, while the termite mounds he lived in always had a sense of movement or change within them, this entire place felt.... felt off. There was little features distinguishing the tunnels from one another, the weird greenish light cast down felt unreal and unnatural, and the sensations he got from the stone and earth in his senses was just disorienting.

Also, they weren't lying about how maze-like it felt down here. Every turn looked like the last and he was beginning to get dizzy. He tried to avoid looking around the environment by focusing on the lions' tails in front of him as they guide him along, but they were going rather quickly and he was beginning to pant.

Finally, when it seemed like he might succumb to nausea and tiredness, they stopped in the midst of a wide area with multiple tunnels connected. He tried to slow his breathing, wincing as the scent of dry stone and still air nearly triggered his gag reflex. He deflected it with a cough, trying to appear alright as he felt his brother's eyes looking at him from over his shoulder.

"Which way was it again?"

He froze, looking up at Zuri, who had been leading the group for the last couple of minutes or however long it was. Her head was switching between the two tunnels.

"Does it matter which way?" He heard Kiara asked, her voice, he noted, a bit quieter.

"Well no, both lead to where we need to go, just... which one had the better view of the caverns?"

"Everything okay over there?," Nuka called out. Zuri turned and smiled, which did little to reassure him.

"Everything's fine. We're just trying to figure out which path leads us to that really nice spot. You know, the one with lots of room that shows more of the crystals with a nice view, you know?"

"Oh yeah.... I think it was....left?" He mused. Zuri scrunched up her face.

"Really? I'm pretty sure it was right."

"Yeah, right seems more likely. Kiara, you?"

"I'm not sure, you guys are usually in charge of the navigating more then me," she admitted. Kovu felt the nausea worsen and felt like just bolting out of here before it got worse. He was beginning to lose track of what was going on and retreat into his shell. Everything just felt so weird, so wrong, he felt frustrated, stressed, and overwhelmed. He just wanted to get out of here, go back into the sunlight and fresh air of the world above and just pass out. At least in his sleep he felt like nothing was wrong.

"Well how about this?" The slightly louder tone was enough to jolt him out of the fogginess and out his attention on Nuka. "Since none of us can agree and Kiara and Kovu can't make a decision, how about you ladies go down the right way and Kovu and I take the left. We'll still be able to get to the place with all the crystals and meet up there, even if we'll be on different sections. Sound good?"

"Works for me," Zuri said. Tiifu and Kiara nodded.

"Kovu, you alright?" He mustered what energy he had and nodded.

"Sure, I'm fine."

"Alright, meet you girls in a few minutes. Let's go."

As Nuka assumed the lead position beside him, Kovu swung back his head towards the other group heading out. Kiara looked at him from over her shoulder and smiled reassuringly at him, her eyes telling him to trust his brother and that everything would be okay. Kovu wondered if he should believe her and that he wouldn't find himself trapped and attacked once he turned the corner. Or perhaps the crystal caverns were just the place where he would be thrown into and impaled.

Either way, he still managed to find himself following behind him.

Oof, claustrophobia settling in. Poor boy probably needs to leave early. Think he might keep his cool for just a while longer? Place your bets now folks. You get extra points if you catch that reference.

Also, that background! Took me a couple tries and multiple references, but I like how it turned out. Not so much for how Nuka came out, but hey he looked better then what I initially did for him.

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

Description
Previous || Next

Almost instantly Kovu felt he had stepped into a different world. One of no sun, little light, rough, hard surfaces all around, and the constant smell of damp earth. Sure he had grown up sleeping and living in termite mounds, but there were more differences then he expected. The termite mounds were always dry, hot, and crawling with termites, with plenty of visible open areas and crannies, as well as opening in the ceiling which let the air flow in, if not made sleeping during cold nights near impossible. Point was, while the termite mounds he lived in always had a sense of movement or change within them, this entire place felt.... felt off. There was little features distinguishing the tunnels from one another, the weird greenish light cast down felt unreal and unnatural, and the sensations he got from the stone and earth in his senses was just disorienting.

Also, they weren't lying about how maze-like it felt down here. Every turn looked like the last and he was beginning to get dizzy. He tried to avoid looking around the environment by focusing on the lions' tails in front of him as they guide him along, but they were going rather quickly and he was beginning to pant.

Finally, when it seemed like he might succumb to nausea and tiredness, they stopped in the midst of a wide area with multiple tunnels connected. He tried to slow his breathing, wincing as the scent of dry stone and still air nearly triggered his gag reflex. He deflected it with a cough, trying to appear alright as he felt his brother's eyes looking at him from over his shoulder.

"Which way was it again?"

He froze, looking up at Zuri, who had been leading the group for the last couple of minutes or however long it was. Her head was switching between the two tunnels.

"Does it matter which way?" He heard Kiara asked, her voice, he noted, a bit quieter.

"Well no, both lead to where we need to go, just... which one had the better view of the caverns?"

"Everything okay over there?," Nuka called out. Zuri turned and smiled, which did little to reassure him.

"Everything's fine. We're just trying to figure out which path leads us to that really nice spot. You know, the one with lots of room that shows more of the crystals with a nice view, you know?"

"Oh yeah.... I think it was....left?" He mused. Zuri scrunched up her face.

"Really? I'm pretty sure it was right."

"Yeah, right seems more likely. Kiara, you?"

"I'm not sure, you guys are usually in charge of the navigating more then me," she admitted. Kovu felt the nausea worsen and felt like just bolting out of here before it got worse. He was beginning to lose track of what was going on and retreat into his shell. Everything just felt so weird, so wrong, he felt frustrated, stressed, and overwhelmed. He just wanted to get out of here, go back into the sunlight and fresh air of the world above and just pass out. At least in his sleep he felt like nothing was wrong.

"Well how about this?" The slightly louder tone was enough to jolt him out of the fogginess and out his attention on Nuka. "Since none of us can agree and Kiara and Kovu can't make a decision, how about you ladies go down the right way and Kovu and I take the left. We'll still be able to get to the place with all the crystals and meet up there, even if we'll be on different sections. Sound good?"

"Works for me," Zuri said. Tiifu and Kiara nodded.

"Kovu, you alright?" He mustered what energy he had and nodded.

"Sure, I'm fine."

"Alright, meet you girls in a few minutes. Let's go."

As Nuka assumed the lead position beside him, Kovu swung back his head towards the other group heading out. Kiara looked at him from over her shoulder and smiled reassuringly at him, her eyes telling him to trust his brother and that everything would be okay. Kovu wondered if he should believe her and that he wouldn't find himself trapped and attacked once he turned the corner. Or perhaps the crystal caverns were just the place where he would be thrown into and impaled.

Either way, he still managed to find himself following behind him.

Oof, claustrophobia settling in. Poor boy probably needs to leave early. Think he might keep his cool for just a while longer? Place your bets now folks. You get extra points if you catch that reference.

Also, that background! Took me a couple tries and multiple references, but I like how it turned out. Not so much for how Nuka came out, but hey he looked better then what I initially did for him.

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