HOME | DD

Description
Previous || Next

The sharp roar immediately set off a chains of reactions. All at once she had everyone's attention, and some followed the princess' stare to where she was looking. Realizing what what at stake now, they looked back at her to see her tense, defensive, and stoically positioned towards the incoming warriors. Though her claws were still encased and she didn't look particularly inclined to launch an attack, her pose and expression gave the expression of a stone-cold wall, ready to block and defend when needed.

And soon that wall was accompanied by the lionesses behind her. Kasi and Tazama, two of the most capable fighters of the Outsiders, trained in the art of war, capable strategists and soldiers, followed suit beside her. On her left side they got into defensive positions, quietly focused on the approaching army.

Seeing what was occurring, the lionesses by the edge; Zuri, her mother, and Shabaha, took notice as well and came in on Kiara's right. Hasnaa was a bit shaky in her steps at first, though her dark-furred assistant came in close beside her, inches from her side, silently offering any support. Another Outsider, much larger, stoic, and lighter then her sister, came in on Hasnaa's other side, and the three followed Zuri to form the rest of the wall. The rest of the Outsiders hung back, closely packed together and protectively huddled over Vitani's limp form, though eyes locked on the scene unfolding before them.

With a wall of lions assembled, forming a protective chain towards the incoming chargers, they were a formidable, impressive sight indeed. As the Pridelanders grew near, Kiara took a step forward, eyes locked on her pride, and unleashed another deep, echoing roar in front of them. The lionesses on her left and right joined in unison, then the ones in the back, together roaring out as announcing their presence before them as one.

The Pridelanders had been dead-set in their goal and determination to succeed in that. Seeing their rulers get pushed off the edge, even from afar, they were all enraged and full of adrenaline. As they had surged across the plains, unwavering in their formation and speed, it appeared nothing would sway them from entering in and attacking. Until they grew nearer and managed to distinguish their own pride members in the defense line, joining with the Outsiders in a deep, warning, alert roar.

Stunned and surprise, the charging lionesses immediately started to decrease their speed. Letting their claws out, stepping quickly to decrease their inertia, and growling as friction heat built between their paw pads and the rough earth, the group abruptly came to a halt mere feet before the still roaring wall of lions.

Once they had stopped, Kiara was the first to end the call, the others soon following suit. With a stern look, she took in the remaining members of her pride, four of them standing defensively and tense before them, the other four more behind and looking very confused and more then a little nervous. To the ones giving death glares and barring their teeth at them, Kiara stepped forth and addressed them more noticeably.

They were still growling as she spoke, in a deep, commanding, serious voice. "There's no need for that. The war is over."

One of the lionesses, one Kiara recognized as being one of the more vocally critical members in the earlier meeting, stepped forth closer, her body language still very tense and cautious, though she looked down firmly at the young princess. "What do you mean it's over? There was no fighting, no bloodshed," she coldly asked. Several growls and snorts came from both groups.

Kiara accepted the challenging, condescending look head on and never swayed in her seriousness. "Exactly. The war is over before it begun. Now it's over and there is no more need for fighting."

Another lioness from the Pridelanders stepped forward, angrily snorting as she grew close to the face-off. Shabaha made a move to get closer and snarl in her face, though Zuri swiftly reached out her foreleg and wrapped it around hers. This action surprised and confused the impulsive, touch-depleted lioness, causing her to let out a confused, also distressed growl at her, though Zuri put on a serious glance, similar to her cousins, and silently asked her to stay back and hold firm. Stunned, though the Outsider managed to respect the request and back down. The lioness from the Pridelands, however, showed little restraint.

"You can't do that," she protested.

"I just did," Kiara replied, then gestured with her head to either side of her. "We all decided it's over now."

"But they attacked our rulers! Your parents!"

"No!" Kiara leaned forward and glared, fire blazing in her eyes. "No! That was not them! That was Zira who attacked my parents and Hasnaa, not them! They have no connection any longer to her and had no intentions of doing anything like this in this peace talk!"

"You believe that! Even after seeing it for yourself?! Do you really believe that they're not responsible for all this?!"

"Yes!"

"No."

The second response came from an unlikely source. Though they were later in arrival compared to the others, due to one having a limp and the other trying to support them up, they had been diligently and steadily approaching to the standoff. That is until Nuka allowed his girlfriend to break off and use her fully healthy and strong limbs to enter into the would-be battlefield and headed in from the side, though, strangely, came close to the face-off and stood right in the middle of the two sides. Both of them looked puzzled, though Kiara had her eyebrows creased in some worry.

"Tiifu?"

"I'm sorry Kiara, but I do have to disagree that the Outsiders are completely innocent in all this. Zira or no, they still attacked us in the gorge, stole from and terrorized up for years. They were willing to go along with Zira's plan initially to destroy us and saying that they aren't guilty of any of that is unjust and unfair," she firmly stated, eyes focused on the two of them. The Pridelander who was faced-off with the princess gave a smug nod of approval. Kiara looked heartbroken.

"Tiifu..."

"I'm not finished." She turned her attention towards her pride. "But that doesn't mean that they aren't all bad either."

Even though they gaped at her, she continued. "They realized that they were in a bad spot, having been lied and deceived all these years to sacrifice their lives in a cause they did not fully stand for or understood. They saw their position and decided to fix it, trying to end their suffering and feud with us in the process." Her voice grew stronger and more confident as she spoke. "Though they did hurt us, they did also try to help us. If it weren't for them, Nuka wouldn't have gotten injured, though without them, he would be still lying at the bottom of the gorge, cold and dead instead of alive."

The Pridelanders gasped, having not known the truth about Nuka's recovery, though Tiifu used their surprise to continue, fully convinced that she had their attention. "I'm not so certain about how the rest of them are, but if they are so willing to start anew, put aside their differences, and end this fight." She got up, turned around and moved towards the end of the wall, before taking her spot beside an Outsider. "Then I fully stand for this."

Seeing the last of their pride ally herself with the other group, some of the remaining Pridelanders growled in disgust and anger. Kiara stepped forward again, catching everyone's attention with the stern, strong tone and heavy emotion.

"Listen to me, there is no more reason to fight now. They had nothing to do with this attack, they just wanted to be free and what happened today was all Zira's plan to get revenge on both them and us." She closed in on them and firmly stared at them. "Our entire history with the Outsiders has been nothing but hateful. We forced them out, left to struggle under a psychotic tyrant's reign, they responded by planning to take us out, just so they could know what it's like to live a normal life, not just struggling to survive. Now that they're out from under her paw, they just want to live in peace. They no longer want to fight us and neither should we." She stood up straight and proudly before them. "We should be standing beside them, aiding and encouraging their freedom, not hindering them. Without any other cause or history, any sort of differences or features, can you look past that and believe that they deserve a chance? Can you believe that they deserve the rights of any creature, even us? If you can, even just for one moment, this war will be over. Stand down. Please."

All was quiet at that moment. A soft breeze, uncommon for this dry expanse of land, brushed through the group. The soft current of air, carrying along several plant parts and other light objects, swerved and blew around the lionesses, starting first with the wall of them. Turning and gliding through limbs, across backs and shoulders, curling around necks and around ears and tails, it didn't stop till it reached the end, before going back and circling around the remaining Outsiders, still tense and quiet, patiently waiting for any sort of reaction.

Though the Pridelanders were dead focused on the tension and uncertainty of the scenario, the breeze came on softly to their side, gliding and circling easily around them, completely the loop before brushing against them. The ones in the back began to ease, feeling the soft, yet familiar feeling through their fur and the light, sweet relief the air filling their lungs gave. As it reached the Pridelanders standing in front, they two felt the comforting gentleness of the wind, some even shutting their eyes and allowing to savor the feeling as the air slowly settled down, letting it's contents peacefully drift to the ground. Though they were the most stubborn and resilient, the remaining Pridelanders, exhaled softly, letting the tension and defensiveness loose.

For a moment, everything was still, quiet, and calm.

"Ahem."

The short cough actually came as a shock to some, sending a couple of lionesses from either side flinching, though the source was swiftly found. Looking over shoulder and around limbs, the only male lion on the plain awkwardly, yet concernedly caught everyone's attention.

"I hate to break up this moment, but it looks like they're struggling down there," Nuka said, immediately renewing the feeling of uncertainty and fear in many of the lionesses present, though for a completely new reason.

"Mom. Dad."

"Kovu!"

In honesty, the speech Kiara gives at the end was inspired a lot by Okoye in the final fight from Black Panther and Commander Shephard's speech to the quarians and geth in Mass Effect 3. Wanted to give her a badass, firm leader role here. Also, everyone's poses were inspired by both the "We Are One" rains scene in TLK2 and in the TLK2 comic. I honestly did want to try and keep a bit of the original TLK2's scenes bit about "We Are One" and the Circle of Life connection here, though I think the wall of both Pridelanders and Outsiders did a similar feel of unity here, though I did try to go for that circle symbolism with the wind.

And of course, Nuka is right, we almost completely forgot that Simba, Nala, Kovu, and Zira are still down in the gorge right beside them. Tune in next time to see what happens then!

Kiara, Outsiders, Pridelanders © The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride © Walt Disney Animation Studios
Kasi, Tazama, Imara, Tiifu, Shabaha, Zuri © The Lion Guard © Walt Disney Animation Studios
Hasnaa, Art © Vtoony

Description
Previous || Next

The sharp roar immediately set off a chains of reactions. All at once she had everyone's attention, and some followed the princess' stare to where she was looking. Realizing what what at stake now, they looked back at her to see her tense, defensive, and stoically positioned towards the incoming warriors. Though her claws were still encased and she didn't look particularly inclined to launch an attack, her pose and expression gave the expression of a stone-cold wall, ready to block and defend when needed.

And soon that wall was accompanied by the lionesses behind her. Kasi and Tazama, two of the most capable fighters of the Outsiders, trained in the art of war, capable strategists and soldiers, followed suit beside her. On her left side they got into defensive positions, quietly focused on the approaching army.

Seeing what was occurring, the lionesses by the edge; Zuri, her mother, and Shabaha, took notice as well and came in on Kiara's right. Hasnaa was a bit shaky in her steps at first, though her dark-furred assistant came in close beside her, inches from her side, silently offering any support. Another Outsider, much larger, stoic, and lighter then her sister, came in on Hasnaa's other side, and the three followed Zuri to form the rest of the wall. The rest of the Outsiders hung back, closely packed together and protectively huddled over Vitani's limp form, though eyes locked on the scene unfolding before them.

With a wall of lions assembled, forming a protective chain towards the incoming chargers, they were a formidable, impressive sight indeed. As the Pridelanders grew near, Kiara took a step forward, eyes locked on her pride, and unleashed another deep, echoing roar in front of them. The lionesses on her left and right joined in unison, then the ones in the back, together roaring out as announcing their presence before them as one.

The Pridelanders had been dead-set in their goal and determination to succeed in that. Seeing their rulers get pushed off the edge, even from afar, they were all enraged and full of adrenaline. As they had surged across the plains, unwavering in their formation and speed, it appeared nothing would sway them from entering in and attacking. Until they grew nearer and managed to distinguish their own pride members in the defense line, joining with the Outsiders in a deep, warning, alert roar.

Stunned and surprise, the charging lionesses immediately started to decrease their speed. Letting their claws out, stepping quickly to decrease their inertia, and growling as friction heat built between their paw pads and the rough earth, the group abruptly came to a halt mere feet before the still roaring wall of lions.

Once they had stopped, Kiara was the first to end the call, the others soon following suit. With a stern look, she took in the remaining members of her pride, four of them standing defensively and tense before them, the other four more behind and looking very confused and more then a little nervous. To the ones giving death glares and barring their teeth at them, Kiara stepped forth and addressed them more noticeably.

They were still growling as she spoke, in a deep, commanding, serious voice. "There's no need for that. The war is over."

One of the lionesses, one Kiara recognized as being one of the more vocally critical members in the earlier meeting, stepped forth closer, her body language still very tense and cautious, though she looked down firmly at the young princess. "What do you mean it's over? There was no fighting, no bloodshed," she coldly asked. Several growls and snorts came from both groups.

Kiara accepted the challenging, condescending look head on and never swayed in her seriousness. "Exactly. The war is over before it begun. Now it's over and there is no more need for fighting."

Another lioness from the Pridelanders stepped forward, angrily snorting as she grew close to the face-off. Shabaha made a move to get closer and snarl in her face, though Zuri swiftly reached out her foreleg and wrapped it around hers. This action surprised and confused the impulsive, touch-depleted lioness, causing her to let out a confused, also distressed growl at her, though Zuri put on a serious glance, similar to her cousins, and silently asked her to stay back and hold firm. Stunned, though the Outsider managed to respect the request and back down. The lioness from the Pridelands, however, showed little restraint.

"You can't do that," she protested.

"I just did," Kiara replied, then gestured with her head to either side of her. "We all decided it's over now."

"But they attacked our rulers! Your parents!"

"No!" Kiara leaned forward and glared, fire blazing in her eyes. "No! That was not them! That was Zira who attacked my parents and Hasnaa, not them! They have no connection any longer to her and had no intentions of doing anything like this in this peace talk!"

"You believe that! Even after seeing it for yourself?! Do you really believe that they're not responsible for all this?!"

"Yes!"

"No."

The second response came from an unlikely source. Though they were later in arrival compared to the others, due to one having a limp and the other trying to support them up, they had been diligently and steadily approaching to the standoff. That is until Nuka allowed his girlfriend to break off and use her fully healthy and strong limbs to enter into the would-be battlefield and headed in from the side, though, strangely, came close to the face-off and stood right in the middle of the two sides. Both of them looked puzzled, though Kiara had her eyebrows creased in some worry.

"Tiifu?"

"I'm sorry Kiara, but I do have to disagree that the Outsiders are completely innocent in all this. Zira or no, they still attacked us in the gorge, stole from and terrorized up for years. They were willing to go along with Zira's plan initially to destroy us and saying that they aren't guilty of any of that is unjust and unfair," she firmly stated, eyes focused on the two of them. The Pridelander who was faced-off with the princess gave a smug nod of approval. Kiara looked heartbroken.

"Tiifu..."

"I'm not finished." She turned her attention towards her pride. "But that doesn't mean that they aren't all bad either."

Even though they gaped at her, she continued. "They realized that they were in a bad spot, having been lied and deceived all these years to sacrifice their lives in a cause they did not fully stand for or understood. They saw their position and decided to fix it, trying to end their suffering and feud with us in the process." Her voice grew stronger and more confident as she spoke. "Though they did hurt us, they did also try to help us. If it weren't for them, Nuka wouldn't have gotten injured, though without them, he would be still lying at the bottom of the gorge, cold and dead instead of alive."

The Pridelanders gasped, having not known the truth about Nuka's recovery, though Tiifu used their surprise to continue, fully convinced that she had their attention. "I'm not so certain about how the rest of them are, but if they are so willing to start anew, put aside their differences, and end this fight." She got up, turned around and moved towards the end of the wall, before taking her spot beside an Outsider. "Then I fully stand for this."

Seeing the last of their pride ally herself with the other group, some of the remaining Pridelanders growled in disgust and anger. Kiara stepped forward again, catching everyone's attention with the stern, strong tone and heavy emotion.

"Listen to me, there is no more reason to fight now. They had nothing to do with this attack, they just wanted to be free and what happened today was all Zira's plan to get revenge on both them and us." She closed in on them and firmly stared at them. "Our entire history with the Outsiders has been nothing but hateful. We forced them out, left to struggle under a psychotic tyrant's reign, they responded by planning to take us out, just so they could know what it's like to live a normal life, not just struggling to survive. Now that they're out from under her paw, they just want to live in peace. They no longer want to fight us and neither should we." She stood up straight and proudly before them. "We should be standing beside them, aiding and encouraging their freedom, not hindering them. Without any other cause or history, any sort of differences or features, can you look past that and believe that they deserve a chance? Can you believe that they deserve the rights of any creature, even us? If you can, even just for one moment, this war will be over. Stand down. Please."

All was quiet at that moment. A soft breeze, uncommon for this dry expanse of land, brushed through the group. The soft current of air, carrying along several plant parts and other light objects, swerved and blew around the lionesses, starting first with the wall of them. Turning and gliding through limbs, across backs and shoulders, curling around necks and around ears and tails, it didn't stop till it reached the end, before going back and circling around the remaining Outsiders, still tense and quiet, patiently waiting for any sort of reaction.

Though the Pridelanders were dead focused on the tension and uncertainty of the scenario, the breeze came on softly to their side, gliding and circling easily around them, completely the loop before brushing against them. The ones in the back began to ease, feeling the soft, yet familiar feeling through their fur and the light, sweet relief the air filling their lungs gave. As it reached the Pridelanders standing in front, they two felt the comforting gentleness of the wind, some even shutting their eyes and allowing to savor the feeling as the air slowly settled down, letting it's contents peacefully drift to the ground. Though they were the most stubborn and resilient, the remaining Pridelanders, exhaled softly, letting the tension and defensiveness loose.

For a moment, everything was still, quiet, and calm.

"Ahem."

The short cough actually came as a shock to some, sending a couple of lionesses from either side flinching, though the source was swiftly found. Looking over shoulder and around limbs, the only male lion on the plain awkwardly, yet concernedly caught everyone's attention.

"I hate to break up this moment, but it looks like they're struggling down there," Nuka said, immediately renewing the feeling of uncertainty and fear in many of the lionesses present, though for a completely new reason.

"Mom. Dad."

"Kovu!"

In honesty, the speech Kiara gives at the end was inspired a lot by Okoye in the final fight from Black Panther and Commander Shephard's speech to the quarians and geth in Mass Effect 3. Wanted to give her a badass, firm leader role here. Also, everyone's poses were inspired by both the "We Are One" rains scene in TLK2 and in the TLK2 comic. I honestly did want to try and keep a bit of the original TLK2's scenes bit about "We Are One" and the Circle of Life connection here, though I think the wall of both Pridelanders and Outsiders did a similar feel of unity here, though I did try to go for that circle symbolism with the wind.

And of course, Nuka is right, we almost completely forgot that Simba, Nala, Kovu, and Zira are still down in the gorge right beside them. Tune in next time to see what happens then!

Kiara, Outsiders, Pridelanders © The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride © Walt Disney Animation Studios
Kasi, Tazama, Imara, Tiifu, Shabaha, Zuri © The Lion Guard © Walt Disney Animation Studios
Hasnaa, Art © Vtoony