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The sun had already set over the Pridelands, the last rays of dying orange light dissolving into star-speckled indigo. Vitani shifted, wrapping her tail around herself as the breeze ruffled her unkempt pelt. Nearly a week had passed since her brother Kovu and his new mate Kiara had forged peace between the lions of the Outlands and King Simba’s pride. A week since Vitani’s mother Zira had been killed.
A week since I lost Nuka. Vitani shook her head, trying to shake away the thought that lingered in her mind like a layer of dust. She had been counting the days since she last spoke to her older brother, as if her subconscious believed she could hold on to him a little longer if she did.
It was dusk. The air was rank with the scent of dust, termites, and rotting prey. Vitani wrinkled her muzzle, staring down the slope at the silent river below. Soon she would follow her mother across that river. Soon they would kill Simba and reclaim their right to the Pridelands.
Something shuffled behind her, and Vitani flicked an ear back. She didn’t need to turn to identify Nuka; her brother had never quite mastered the stealth necessary for stalking.
“Are we leaving?” she asked.
“Not yet,” Nuka replied; Vitani could hear the tense excitement in his voice. “Mother is taking the others through the plan again.”
Vitani hummed in response then nodded to the spot next to her as an invitation. Her brother trotted forward and dropped down at her side, close enough that their pelts were brushing.
“Do you think it’ll work?” Vitani asked after a heartbeat of silence. She was skeptical that, after the length of time they had spent in the Outlands, it could all end in one night.
Nuka glanced at her. “Of course it’ll work, Vitani,” he said. “Mother is brilliant. She knows what to do.” He paused, and Vitani saw a familiar flame in his eyes. His voice dropped to a whisper. “We’ll do this perfectly…then she’ll have to love us more than Kovu.”
Vitani turned away so he wouldn’t see her frown. Zira only ever had time for their other brother. Vitani often forgot that she was the lioness’s daughter, not just another soldier. She had long since given up trying to win Zira’s love. In fact, she wasn’t sure the lioness could love anyone who wasn’t Scar. Even Kovu, her precious “Chosen One,” only had her attention because Scar paid attention to him first.
But that didn’t stop Nuka. No matter how often Zira hit him, or yelled at him, or berated him, there was some part of him that doggedly believed she loved him.
“Nuka?” Vitani wasn’t quite able to meet her brother’s gaze.
“Yeah?”
“What if she…doesn’t?” She bit back a wince, closing her eyes so she didn’t have to see his expression. “Love us, I mean. We’re her soldiers. She needs us, but not like that.” She cracked an eye, risking a glance at Nuka.
His gaze was fixed on his paws, claws sliding in and out of his toes as he thought. “She already loves us,” he said. “She just needs our help to remember sometimes.”
Vitani sighed, trying not to think of what Zira would do if she heard Nuka say that. In a moment of weakness, or at least what she had always been told was weakness, Vitani leaned against Nuka, resting her head on her brother’s matted mane. She doubted Zira would ever love them, especially Nuka, who for some reason infuriated her the most. But Vitani couldn’t bear the thought of what knowing that would do to him.
“If you really think so,” she said instead.
“I really do,” Nuka replied, draping his tail across her back. “We’ll prove to her that we’re worth just as much as Kovu, no matter what it takes.”
The stars blurred in Vitani’s vision, and she squeezed her eyes shut, refusing to let the tears fall. Crying was weakness, something cubs did when they whined about unimportant things. She wouldn’t cry.
The wind had strengthened, its icy fingers swirling around Vitani until she shivered. She hunched her shoulders, fluffing out her fur as far as she could, though it didn’t do much good. Growing up with little to no time for personal health practices, Vitani knew her pelt was thin and filthy compared to the Pridelanders’.
Well, good, she thought. Maybe it’ll make me easier to recognize with all these fluff-pelts around. Vitani paused, her breath lodging in her throat. Easier to recognize for who? Wherever Nuka was, he would know her even if she started to look different…wouldn’t he?
Vitani lifted her gaze to the stars again, little pulses of silver light against a black background. Where are you, Nuka? Can you see me?
Clatter-scatter-click.
Tension shot through Vitani’s veins, and she leapt to her paws, whirling around with her teeth bared only to come face-to-face with—
“Q-Queen Nala!”
The Pridelander queen stood a few paces back, her eyes glowing like twin moons in the darkness. Vitani couldn’t tell if her reaction had offended Nala, for the sandy lioness remained relaxed, her tail sweeping the ground behind her.
“Sorry to startle you, Vitani,” the queen said.
Vitani forced her hackles down. I wasn’t startled, she thought. “I’m fine,” she said aloud. “What do you want?”
She nearly bit her own tongue as the words came out. Good manners were never something Zira had enforced, and according to Kovu, Vitani’s manners were a bit…crude.
She cleared her throat. “I-I mean,” she stammered, “do you need—are you looking for something, or—or—”
She stopped as Nala gave her a reassuring smile. “I was looking for you,” she said, taking a few steps closer.
Vitani’s ears instinctively lay back against her head. Nala wasn’t approaching aggressively, but whenever Zira had come straight toward her, it usually meant a blow wasn’t far behind.
“I was going to ask if you wanted to come inside,” Nala said, stopping again as if she could sense Vitani’s tension. She tossed her muzzle at the den behind her, where the faint snores of the rest of the pride were drifting through the opening. “It’s getting cold. You don’t have to be out here all alone.”
Vitani twitched her tail back and forth, weighing her options. It would be warmer in the den and refusing might offend the queen. But she really wasn’t in the mood to feel comfortable, not when her thoughts were hurting the way they were.
She dipped her head to Nala in what she hoped was a polite gesture. “I’m fine out here,” she said then hesitated. Should she add anything else? Was there a proper way to bid goodnight to a queen? She couldn’t remember, and her mind was still swirling with thoughts of Nuka. Dipping her head again and hoping Nala understood, she turned around to face the dark landscape.
Pawsteps shuffled, and before she had a chance to glance around, Nala materialized beside her. Vitani tensed, keeping her gaze fixed on the horizon.
“Can I ask you something, Vitani?” the queen said as she sat down.
Biting back a growl of discomfort, Vitani straightened her shoulders and assumed a soldier’s posture. “Certainly,” she replied, reaching back in her mind to her training. Be emotionless, be alert, be prepared to obey.
“All of your pridesisters seem to be happier here,” Nala said. “They’re settling in well, making friends. Being themselves for once.”
Vitani could sense Nala watching her; she straightened further, raising her head and pushing down her shoulders.
“But you’re still keeping your distance,” the queen continued. “Are the other lionesses bothering you?”
By “bothering,” Vitani assumed Nala meant “picking on.”
“No,” she replied. “All of them have been welcoming.” In fact, most of the Pridelander lionesses had already approached her at some point, inviting her on hunts or simply being friendly. But Vitani couldn’t quite accept that, not yet.
Why, though? she wondered. Was it because she thought they were soft? Maybe, but the longer Vitani spent in the Pridelands, the more she found herself wanting to be like the other lionesses: well-fed and groomed, enjoying each other’s company, and going on successful hunts.
It took a few heartbeats for Vitani to notice her soldier stance had broken. She straightened again and fixed her gaze ahead. She couldn’t let herself fit into the pride. This was the only version of her that Nuka had known. How could she even think of changing into someone he didn’t know?
“You don’t have to stand like that.”
Vitani blinked, startled out of her tense stance, but not by Nala’s words. There was something in her tone, a gentleness Vitani had only ever heard from her brothers when they were trying to comfort her or apologize for teasing too hard. She had never heard it from anyone this much older than her, almost as if Nala was speaking to her like she was her own—
Vitani shook her head before she could finish the thought. Kovu was part of Nala’s family now, not her. There was no reason for the queen to treat her like a daughter.
Am I that weak that I’ll get attached to the very first lioness who treats me kindly? I don’t need a mother. I never have. She cleared her throat before replying in a practiced, emotionless tone, “This is how all Outlanders stand when they’re being addressed.”
“You aren’t an Outlander anymore, Vitani.” Nala’s voice was still soft, but without the pity Vitani expected to hear. “You’re one of us.”
Vitani allowed herself to glance at Nala. The queen regarded her with an expression that was difficult to read. Vitani had the impression Nala was gathering far more information about her than words would ever provide.
“What are you doing out here?” the queen asked.
Vitani’s heart missed a beat, and her ears flattened against her head. Was she that easy to read? Or was Nala especially perceptive? “I—I—er,” she tried, but her thoughts were scattered, and the only clear thing coming through was her memory of Nuka on that final night.
She dropped her gaze, shutting her eyes and releasing a sigh that was whisked away by the wind. “I have—had a second brother.”
“The other lion in your group?” Nala guessed. “The one who was killed in the log slide?”
Vitani nodded once. A small pebble sat beside her, and she began rolling it around beneath her paw. “Nuka,” she said, though it came out as more of a strangled whisper.
“I remember Nuka.”
Vitani glanced up, her stomach twisting. “You knew him?” she asked then winced at the desperation in her tone. Nuka had always been on the opposite side for Nala; she wouldn’t pity him.
The queen nodded, her eyes flickering with deep thought. “I was never allowed near him,” she said. “Scar’s potential heirs were kept away from the rest of the pride, but I remember the day he was born, and I saw him around a few times.” She paused, a small smile softening her features. “He was never afraid of the hyenas. He didn’t seem to enjoy their company, but he didn’t run from them, either.”
A warm trickle of pride loosened Vitani’s chest. “There were very few things he did run from,” she said. Including Mother, her mind added. He should have run from her more often.
Vitani flexed her claws against the rock. She would never understand how Nuka could endure all those blows and berating remarks from Zira and still willingly die attempting to please her.
“You shouldn’t blame yourself for his death,” Nala said.
“I don’t,” Vitani replied. “He was—” She looked away and ended the sentence with an awkward cough. She had nearly said, He was just doing what Mother wanted, but Zira had wanted him to kill Simba. Nala probably wouldn’t appreciate Vitani saying something like that so carelessly.
“He was looking for his place,” Nala filled in for her.
“Nuka wasn’t a soldier,” Vitani said in a low tone. “His place was never meant to be fighting.”
Nala tilted her muzzle toward the sky, and Vitani followed her gaze. Thousands of stars twinkled against the inky sky, pulsing and glittering with far-off light.
“He has a place now.”
It took a few heartbeats for the queen’s words to sink in. Vitani swung her head around, but Nala continued to stare at the stars.
“I know it’s hard to understand, but Nuka is with them now,” the queen said. “With the Great Kings.” She lowered her gaze to Vitani. “And you are with us.”
A sharp pain zipped through Vitani’s chest. “And that’s the hard part,” she muttered.
Nala pulled herself to her paws. “That’s true,” she said. “But try to think about it this way: he’s safe with them now, and he’ll always be there, waiting for you.”
The stars blurred before Vitani’s eyes until the night sky became a swirl of light and darkness. Maybe Nuka was in his own place now, waiting to welcome her when her time came.
And if he was waiting for her, then he would recognize her, no matter how much she changed during her life in the Pridelands. The life both of them had wanted. Vitani stood alongside the queen and inhaled the cold night air. Her heart still hurt, and that wouldn’t ever go away, but she had the odd sensation of a weight being lifted off her.
You’ll always know me, Nuka, no matter what kind of life I can live now. And I’ll never forget you.
Just remember to tell those kings you’re waiting for me.