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Chapter XIII: They're Coming

Kopa's POV

It was Spring of the following year when I entered a living nightmare I would rather not remember. It was perfectly normal morning, or so it seemed. The sunlight was pouring into the den, shedding it's comforting warmth on Fuwele and I as we lay side by side. "Wake up, dear." I said, tapping her lightly on the nose. She stirred and blinked her eyes as the sun reached her.

"Uggh, morning already?" She had never been fond of mornings.

"Yes, hun. Time for the morning hunt." I smiled as she yawned and stretched groggily. I looked from her to smile at the little ball of fur nestled in between us; my little daughter, Maua.

Fuwele and I had been married ten months, about. Though occaisionally, I had to question whether I truly loved her. I was extremely fond of her, no doubt; but it wasn't a mentally incapacitating, can't-spend-a-minute-without-you passion like it had been with Vitani. She was caring, soft-spoken, and a wonderful mate who given me all her devotion. But there were days my thoughts wandered to someone else, and Fuwele knew it. "What are you thinking about?" she would ask me sometimes as I sat alone, a note of jealousy in her voice. I usually gave a slightly guilty flinch, for I was remembering home. Don't get me wrong; I loved our home. But that didn't prevent me from thinking back to the Pridelands, to Mum, Dad... and Vitani.

Soon Fuwele was beginning to see how often I sat alone, thinking, so she changed her question. "Who are you thinking of?" she would, and I couldn't help but to see that little spark of jealousy in her emerald eyes. I never said who it was, but somehow Fuwele knew. "It must be a lioness. I can tell from the look on your face." I never confirmed it, but she knew; she always had good intuition- it was like I could just look into her eyes and all my secrets would be suddenly visible to her. "You're thinking about your Pridelander lioness." she used to say. She was right. I had told only her, Strike, and Brasta that I was from the Pridelands; about my home, about Zira, my family, and my real name... but I had never mentioned Vitani to Fuwele. Strike and Brasta, and Brasta had been more wary of me afterwards- the usual "I'll kill you if you hurt her" stuff. Despite the fact that Fuwele knew I was hiding somethng, she seemed to accept my wandering thoughts. I was always faithful to her. And I adored my dear Maua.

At that moment, Brasta took his opportunity to pop in out of nowhere. "Morning, Kopa," he said amiably, padding his way across the cave. Even though he knew about Vitani, he'd been much kinder to me in the past ten months than he was before. Strike had treated me same as ever, of course; even better once he completely healed.

Fuwele took Brasta's appearance as a cue to head off. "I'll see you when I'm back from the hunt." she said, licking my cheek as she walked by. I couldn't help but smile as she headed out of the cave.

"Be safe, dear." I said.

"I will!" she yelled over her shoulder before moving out of my view. Ever since we discovered the mangled corpses of our sentries on the night of our wedding, the whole Pride had been on high alert. For the past several months, Strike and Brasta had insisted on keeping a constant border patrol. Ever since that incident, they had been inseparable- always at each other's back even more than usual. Brasta, I'd noticed was getting more and worried. Whether it was because of brotherly worry, guilt over the death of their fellow pridemembers, or just a mutual paranoia, I couldn't tell. To be honest, I think Brasta was closer to Strike than to Fuwele, his actual sister. Not that I could blame him- they had both suffered together, back in the first battle with Drake and Sadic. And knowing Brasta's bad habit of feeling disproportionately guilty for things that weren't his fault, I was glad Strike could help him keep a clear head. They were the best example of friends I had ever seen.

Slowly I turned to Brasta, who had just begun to lie down in the corner of the den. "How's the patrols been going?"

A strange shadow came over his face- I couldn't tell if it was from fatigue, confusion, or something else. "Good so far." He paused, looking troubled. "However, I can't help but think..."

"What?" I asked. Brasta was never one to just spit what he was thinking out, so I was curious why he was doing so now.

Brasta looked at me, his voice uneasy. "I just... have a bad feeling about today. You know they could show up any day now."

I caught onto his worries immediately. Frankly, I think he was a bit too concerned about Drake and Sadic. His vigilance ever since the slaughter of our sentries was admirable of course; but it had a slightly obsessive edge to it, something I had never seen in Brasta before. And to be honest, it scared me a little. Looking back, I wish I had been more receptive to his warnings. "Brasta, we all know that! We know that those two are dangerous-"

"Then why is it only Strike, myself, and a few occasional volunteers are keeping watch, hmm?" he said, unable to keep the irritation out of his voice. "You don't really know how dangerous they are..." I shivered a bit at the urgency in his tone, pulling my sleeping Maua just a bit closer against me. I knew the two were dangerous from what Fuwele and Brasta had told me before- however, I did not believe they were almost demons from Hell like Brasta liked to imply. In my mind, they were just a couple of nasty lions who could easily be found and disposed of- I never once dreamed they were as devious as they were told. And even if they were, why on earth would they stick around here? I suppose if I'd paid more attention to Strike after he was injured, I would know better.

"I know, I know! As you've said a million times before, they're pure menace. However... I can't help but think they've most likely moved on to ravage somewhere else. I think the massacre was more of a solitary thing so Sadic could get his thrills in and Drake could keep us all on edge in one blow. In fact, I'm quite sure they just left. It's been ten months, Brasta- why the hell would they stick around here?"

Brasta gave me a hard look. "Revenge. Served cold as a desert night. And of course, to finish their precious masterpiece- the pride's destruction. They're nothing if not driven." I didn't like the smoldering anger in his eyes on bit.

"What on earth would be the point in sticking around? I mean, didn't they do this once already? Drake's got his ego fed, and Sadic got his disgusting idea of fun in. What more could they want with revenge?"

"My death. Strike's death. My Father's death. The complete annihalation of every last lion, lioness and cub in this pride."

I shook my head. "What on earth would be the point? It's just petty revenge..."

Brasta gave me an exasperated look. "Considering your history with certain persons motivated by petty revenge-"

"Don't go there." I cut him off. I was really in no mood to bring Zira into this conversation- I prefer to remember happy occaisions, thank you very much. And unlike Brasta, I didn't want her dead- she was still Vitani's mother, however warped her mind was. "At least Zira had good in her at some point... before Scar corrupted her."

"Oh, and how did your lovely granduncle end up the way he did, hmm? Greed and revenge. In the end, it all comes down to greed... and petty revenge."

I was honestly getting annoyed by his little lecture, and snapped. "You're one to talk about petty revenge, with your obsession with Sadic!"

He looked stunned, as if someone had punched him in the throat. He caught his breath a moment later, looking rather insulted. I mentally hit myself on the head- I shouldn't have said that. "It's hardly the same thing." he said, his tone much softer, his eyes not angry anymore. Just.. worried. "Sadic and Drake tried to take everything from me- Strike, Fuwele, my Father and Mother, and all the rest of my pride. I don't want to see someone else- like you- suffer the same terror I did. Have you ever been afraid that in the blink of an eye, everyone you've ever cared for would be ripped away? I have- and I don't want anyone else to feel like that."

I was, to be frank, rather regretful. All I could do was nod, dumbly. "I understand."

For the first time all morning, I saw him smile. "Good." And with that, he laid down where he was, curling up on the floor. With a sigh, I turned away and looked down at my little daughter Maua, still curled fast asleep. "Daddy's here to protect you, little one." I said fondly, finding myself drifting off to sleep beside my daughter.

"Brasta, Kopa!" Several hours later, I awoke with a start to see Strike running into the den, terror in his eyes. Oh no... Whatever was going on, it couldn't good. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Brasta jump up almost immediately, running to his friend's side.

"Strike, what's the matter?" Strike turned towards me, looking at me as if I was mad, and spoke the two words I dreaded with all my heart.

"They're coming."

AU: Sorry to keep y'all hanging for so long. Hopefully you enjoyed this one. Remember, reviews are love! Until next time... Brasta out!