FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Part Four: A Little Jealousy

Scar's attempts to explain it all to Kula however was practically impossible. First she'd burst into tears and then she'd begged for a cuddle and then become angry. Scar tried hard to insist that it was all a matter of royal duty but he'd failed to realise how eager to be with him the chubby little cub was and it amused him thoroughly.

"But why? Am I not as good as her? Is she a better lion then me?" Kula growled in annoyance but Scar just seemed to purr again as he strained a paw to her and stroked her back. Despite her anger with him, the teary eyed cub found herself gripping onto his paw and begging him not to leave her to spend the night with her mother and the lionesses that were not exactly nice about how much time she was spending in Scar's tutelage.

"It's royal business... I have to determine if Nala and the others are suitable candidates for diplomacy. I need to know if they will be prepared to accept the duties of such females. Duties I would not expect of you Kula." Scar stated with a gentle smile, only to hear the cub purr suddenly in delight and rub about him a little. Despite his sudden arousal, Scar was not going to waste energy with his loyal subject and instead was aiming to find out just how dangerous Nala and her companions could be. The biggest issue was that Nala had been around Simba, been his betrothed, so she was expecting to be put in a high position when the time came and Scar was not sure he liked that idea.

As he urged Kula out with her mother when food was brought and did his best to charm the dark female and make her blush, Scar prepared himself for what was due to happen next. He did not really trust that he could press Nala and her siblings in the same way he could Kula and Tama, plus he had no guarantee Sarafina would leave the girls with him. He also had no guarantee that they would not blab on anything he did, although when they were older he would have the right to do it. Tact would have to be used and Scar hoped that perhaps, if Sarafina was really desperate that the cubs were accompanied, he could woo her. If there was one thing the lionesses did not seem to make a fuss of, it was mating in front of an audience, cubs or no. After-all that was natural wasn't it.

To his great surprise though it was Safi who accompanied the cubs to the den and Nala was not amongst them. Scar rolled his eyes... well, if he couldn't get Nala then Nadra and Sabini would be easy to put in his good favour. When Safi came in, escorted by hyenas who drooled hungrily at the two trembling cubs, one alike to Nala but stockier with a darker coat, the other exactly the same as Nala save dark ears and deep green eyes, Scar growled at the hyenas and they quickly left. It made Safi sigh in relief and she sat down in front of her king, bowing her head until he stroked her face with a paw and led them to his kill. As they ate, greedily as ever, Scar began to gently coil his tail about Safi's, making her blush and giggle gently as her daughters paused to stare at her in confusion. But when nothing more seemed to happen they relaxed themselves.

"I have to go and guard Nala, Sarafina is hunting tonight and she said Nala couldn't go with my daughters. The poor girl has had such terrible dreams lately, she calls out for Simba and we don't want her to do something drastic in her sleep like run away. But... I appreciate you being so kind to me and my daughters... Sire." Safi stated after eating, bowing her head and departing as Scar gave a rather goofy smile toward her, trying to seem understanding and more then happy to look after Nadra and Sabini. To be honest... Safi had reacted very well to his actions earlier and he wondered if perhaps she'd been subjected to something like that by another male lion.

But now Scar had the girls to deal with, they looked at him expectantly; waiting to hear some words of wisdom and Scar was not sure what to do. He couldn't imagine how to phrase it so that it would work with the daughters... after-all they were bound to tell Sarafina and Nala something. He recalled his lie to Kula and smiled at the girls gently.

"My dears, I don't mean to call you in here when you are so young... but in order to prevent the attacks from the hyenas, I must make a show of interest to you cubs so that they do not eat you. Nala may be safe because she has Sarabi and her mother constantly at her side, but you children may not be so fortunate." He began, surprised by the sudden attentive eyes of the two girls. He was amused by how cute they both looked and then he recalled their mother... there was no doubt that these two girls would definitely look very beautiful as adults, so it was best to just take it slowly. "But I have decided that, as your mother and many of the other lionesses have done in this pride, when you're old enough you'll be diplomats and meet kings and other diplomats of different kingdoms to impress. What do you think of that?"

"We'll be important?" Nadra suddenly stood on her sister's head, trying to hog the attention of the king although Sabini pushed her away. Before Scar could explain anything more he watched as they rolled about in a play fight and shook his head, a little disappointed to say the least. But though he pulled his paw along his face in resignation, the two cubs suddenly stopped when Nadra bumped her nose. It was then that Scar noticed how attentively Sabini licked her sister's nose and he was amused by a very interesting concept.

Mufasa had always insisted on being present to the diplomatic mating rituals so that any foul play could be prevented... the females expected Scar would do the same for them in time. But there was nothing to say Scar couldn't get involved or make things a little more interesting. He mused at the idea and his cruel conniving grin was spotted by the cubs.

"Did you remember a funny joke?" Sabini stated, only to have Scar gently poke her nose and chuckle. Sabini grinned a little naively but Nadra gave a grunt of annoyance, wanting to have attention as well. Scar rolled his eyes and stroked under her chin, causing her to smile but pleased that there was jealousy between them. He needed to know these chinks in the lioness sisterhood in order to rule efficiently and if the adult lionesses were not going to be willing to obey him, he could always rely on these cubs... in time.

"Yes... but you two will have to learn to act like proper royal diplomats. You're to come to me once a week for instruction and to ask Sarabi and your aunty to assist in your training. We need to make sure the prettiest cubs in the Pride Lands have all the attention they deserve!" Scar chuckled gently... but he was not expecting for someone to have snuck into the area and listen in.

Although Kula had been incredibly lucky not to have attracted the hyenas, the words she heard cut her deeply and she wanted to run away from the Pride Lands for good. But she couldn't make it out there and she wouldn't be happy without Tama around. With a snort of upset she headed back toward her mother, wiped her tears away and alerted Safi to collect her daughters now. She knew that Scar would probably unhappy if anyone interrupted his lessons, but she couldn't help but remain jealous and eager to know they would suffer.