The Largest Rift

The death of his oldest sister struck Nuka more than he thought it would, he was never close to Ari, that was true, but still she was the nicest cub to ever have talked to him. His father was distraught, having lost one daughter and exiling another, the only cubs left were him and his older sister Uma. Kifu had been taken with Heshima upon her exile and Tasa was blamed for Ari's death. Giza and Mheetu had been long forgotten, so it was only time before Scar proclaimed Nuka as heir. But the cub didn't know what would happen soon that would deny him every chance at the throne. But until then, Nuka was a shoe-in and he wore his title as prince proudly. In the murky waters of the waterhole, he found that small obsidian hairs were starting to grow on his chin, showing the future growth of a beard. Yet another thing that would bring him farther from his father's image. But having only a few months left till becoming an adolescent, Nuka couldn't do anything to change his appearance. Even a scar wouldn't bring him closer to his father, so the cub was stuck with it until he died. For now, Nuka strived to make his father proud, and today was the first time that he was out legitimately hunting. Although true it was unannounced, Nuka had slipped past the hyenas in the early hours of the morning and made his way through the Pridelands into the savannah. Whilst there, he saw many a herd, mostly sleeping.

Although usually against Nuka's nature, he found one of the smaller gazelles -probably only a child- and picked it up. With it being asleep it was an easy kill, and the cub ran out of the area before he was found. Even if he was still a cub, Nuka was growing to be quite large, and even more so since his increased rations had been almost doubled with the fall of many of the pride. Now only a measly amount of lions remained, meaning more food for the members of the pride. However even though the babe was small, the gazelle proved to be larger than Nuka would have wished for. With the death of Ari, Scar had been distressed, the hyenas hadn't been near the pride -especially his remaining two children-, and the pride still mourned for the loss of the cub. Nuka wouldn't have to worry about the hyenas coming to steal his large prize of food that the lionesses seemed to not understand could be caught. The dusty russet prince finally entered into the Pridelands and headed to the west. There he found himself at the Kube River, and non other than his father there, most likely escaping the ways of the pride. Nuka hated how the pride treated his father, it was like they thought that everything from the drought to the herds leaving was his fault. Although Nuka thought wrong, he was in for a big shock when he found out that everyone else was right.

Nuka quietly padded up to his father, a small innocent smile on his face. His claws were extended as they had always been since the day he and his father last had some one-on-one time just in a hopeful push to become more like his father. There was a strange look on his father's face, as if he was getting sick or something, and Nuka addressed it quickly. However the cub waited as he found himself next to his russet father, placing the dead prey beside him. "I caught this for you father, it was just outside of the borders almost dead. I was patrolling you see, I was up early and the hyenas were sleeping away. Please, take it all. I can go hungry until lunchtime, you however look as if you need it now. Are you getting sick father? You should take it easy from now on, Ari wouldn't want you to be like this," It was a risky move for Nuka to mention Ari to his father, but he held her somewhat close to his heart as well. Nuka always pushed himself away from his siblings, not wanting to get attached to any of them, but in the same time the boy wondered if he should have. Now there was only Uma left, and something told Nuka that she wasn't about to stick around much longer. She would possibly be exiled next, if not exiled then something was going to happen to her, Nuka just knew it. The cub sighed and looked into his father's jade eyes, wanting to say more, but yet would wait until his father replied.

If the lionesses had not already thought of Scar as a monster, they surely did now. No sympathy was extended to the grieving father once they realized that Tasa and Heshima would not be returning, either. It didn't take long for word to get around the pride that Scar had been responsible for banishing his former lover and her last remaining daughter. The lion was not yet defeated though, and he sat beside the river, staring blankly into the distance. Now all that remained were Nuka and Uma, and a secret: Zira would once again be a mother. Scar looked forward to the day that his mate, his chosen queen, gave birth to her second litter. He was certain the next would be larger than the first. In his declining mind, he was also sure that all of the suffering he had endured would be made right with Zira's litter. It would be the last of his offspring, and the cubs produced would never see the light of day, nor breathe in the hot air of their father's kingdom. Only deceit would offer Scar any glimmer of happiness before his final days, which were swiftly approaching. He would never father another live cub, and Nuka would be his last.

As the cub approached, kill held tightly, Scar glanced over with a semi-curious look. But before the russet lion could comment on it, Nuka began to talk. And then, the cub made the ultimate mistake: he mentioned his dead sister. Scar's half-interested expression instantly mutated to one of utter outrage. His paw raised, claws glinting in the sunshine, but he stopped himself before Nuka became the recipient of a scar of his own. He ripped into the gazelle instead, leaving four long gashes. "Watch your tongue! There's nothing wrong with me!" What would come of the kingdom if they heard their monarch was sick or weak?

There was only one thing that comforted Scar in his lowest moments, and that was making others feel even worse. He sneered down at Nuka. "So you went outside of our borders, taking half dead gazelle runts? You must be so proud of yourself." Clearly, Scar was not. Nuka had disobeyed the rules, and rather than hunting something that had a chance to escape, he had taken the easy way and picked off one already near death. "Take it to your mother. She needs it now more than I do," he commented with a knowing grin and a twinkle in his eyes. He was well aware of Nuka's certainty, thinking that his father had no other option for heir... But Nuka was wrong, and Scar was confident that the son he had longed for would finally arrive.

Nuka's expression went from joyful to fearful as his father's paw was held high. He slinked away quickly and watched as his claws went into the dead mammal that lay before him. Nuka was quickly chastised and lowered his head, "I'm sorry father, I'm just worried about you that's all. Not only you are my father, but you are my king. As prince I need to protect everyone, and make sure that everyone's alright. Something about you just seemed off, but I was stupid to assume anything. I'm sorry father," The dusty russet cub raised his head and sheepishly smiled at his father. Who would be able to know that the russet lion was on his last legs, and that soon he would be lost to the ages? Who would predict the fall of the tyrant and rise of the once lost Simba? Nuka wouldn't even think to realize his fate, just by following his mother and father's rule. Even though he disagreed with most of it, Nuka still was too young to stray from his mother if he wanted to. He would miss the chance by mere months, either that or he would be too emotionally traumatized to do anything about it. The Pridelands were his homelands, but it seemed as if the Outlands would be Nuka's true home. The crimson-eyed male sighed as he heard his father comment on how 'proud' Nuka was, he wasn't stupid, he saw right through his father's sarcasm. Not wanting to retaliate, Nuka breathed in but soon gave in to his conscious.

His eyes seemed to burn in anger as he questioned his father's judgement, offering up an argument of his own, "Father what is the difference if a prey animal is going to die or can still escape? Food is food! What, would you rather this gazelle go off and die in another's lands so they would be fed? That would be counter-productive, letting another pride be fed by a dying creature instead of taking it for our own? Strengthening everyone who belongs to you and our pride?" Nuka backed up slightly in order to stay out of his father's range just in case he reacted with violence, even though he stated that he loathed it. "Besides, the gazelle was just about to enter our lands, I stepped maybe a foot into neutral lands. What will that get me, exiled? I was doing it for you father, so that you can see that I'm not worthless like the rest of the pride thinks!" Many of the lionesses chastised Nuka for being too soft at times, yet too rough at others. They hated how Nuka didn't seem to do much, but that was only because no one would give him a chance. Everyone seemed to loathe Nuka, even his parents did at some points. And then Scar mentioned that Nuka should take the deceased mammal to his mother, and enraged Nuka stopped him right there before he finished his explanation. The cub stood tall in order to show that he was a royal, not some worthless cub.

"Father no, it is your law that you receive a part of every kill. Me taking this to my mother and you refusing would be against your law. I am the prince, I cannot break my father's laws and get away with it. Please, just take a small piece, even if it's a nibble. I wouldn't be able to show myself to you if I defied your law, it is an immoral thing to do," But unknown to Nuka, that was exactly what his father wanted, for him not to show his face again. But then Scar finished what he was saying, and Nuka saw exactly what his father was hinting at. A smile crossed his face, siblings, actual full-blooded siblings would be born to his parents. Unknown to the cub, all his chances at becoming king would vanish that the birth of this new litter. But not because who was born from it, but who was stolen for this new litter. Nuka chuckled and smiled, "Congratulations father, you must be so proud of mother. Don't you worry, just as I protect you and mother I will protect my little brothers," Nuka assumed that since he was born a male, that his siblings would be born males. Also that there would be more than one child born. Nuka wasn't stupid, although at times it seemed that way, and he figured out everything that Scar tried to twist. From his irritation and sarcasm, to the almost unspoken secret that Nuka would soon be a big brother. But soon, Nuka would also lose everything and everyone close to him, sending him down into the darkness.

Again, Scar did not take kindly to his son's suggestion that there was something 'off' about him. This was something the false king had heard since he was a cub himself, from the worried low tones of his parents discussing their younger son to the disapproving looks of the lionesses that had caused Scar to move away from the pride den so many years ago. Most of the doubting females were long gone by now, victims of starvation or banishment, but the most loyal pride members still remained. And Scar loathed them all. "You're wrong. You're all wrong." Piercing jade eyes seemed to stare right through the prince, narrowed and full of hatred for his own circumstances.. Even if it was all his creation. The apologies uttered by the younger of the pair were seemingly ignored as Scar turned away to stare into the distance, lost in his own declining mind.

He snapped out of his daze when Nuka's temper flared, and he glanced back to the prince with a blank, indescribable expression now. Before, it may have offered comfort to the father of the young male to see him defend himself and his actions. Much like Kifu, Scar viewed Nuka as weak. Too soft to be king. At least Nuka tried to stand up for himself, but it wouldn’t help his quest to gain his dear old dad’s approval. His lip curled and he lurched forward suddenly, bringing his face uncomfortably close to his son’s. ”You are not allowed to leave the Pridelands. I will inform your mother of what you’ve done, if you refuse to bring her this… thing.” His bright eyes flicked downwards, indicating the dead gazelle.

After a lingering, tense minute, Scar backed down. Steps were taken backwards, but his narrowed eyes remained on Nuka. ”When the king tells you to do something, then you do it. Understood?” Short on words, short on patience. The thought of Nuka protecting his future brothers brought about a hearty, if not ironic laugh from Scar. After all, hadn't Mufasa kept an eye out for his own little brother? Just look at what that had gained the former king in the end. Maybe Nuka had not yet realized that with more siblings came more competition for the throne. In his father's mind, Nuka was not the only option. His future was far from secured, and for his own amusement, Scar decided to point this out. "That's good to hear. The future king will need protection, after all. My son," his low voice murmured. But he wasn't talking about Nuka anymore.

That said, the lion turned away from Nuka, still ignoring the gazelle offering. Even food had lost its pleasure in recent weeks, and the already thin framed king had been slowly wasting away. He was no longer at his physical peak - far from it, in fact, as age and poor health finally caught up to the dark king. Scar had never been the finest example of fitness and vigor anyway, but his current mental state only seemed to hasten his downward spiral.

Nuka's ear pinned against his head when his father talked about telling his mother he left the Pridelands without telling anyone. Even if he just took a few steps out of the border -well at least that's what he told his father- it seemed forbidden. "Y-Yes father, I'll take this to her. I'm sorry for breaking the rules, I just thought," But Nuka stopped there, any more explanation was sure to get his father even more angry. It made Nuka curious, why was his father breaking his own rules? Why did he want a piece of this meat just like he wanted a piece of every kill? Was it because Nuka hunted it instead of the hunting party? Everything that Nuka was told, was it a lie? The almost adolescent struggled to wrap his mind around this as he listened to his father chastise him more and more. Of course he listened to his father, he was one of the only members of the pride who would do that willingly. But then his father did have the last say on everything that went down in the pride and Nuka just had to accept that. Even though everything that he did was trying to prove to his father that he was a good son, everything seemed to go downhill from there. His thought had been clouded by judgement that he was going to be king, when in reality it was everything that his father did not want. But of course, the dusty russet prince had no idea what was playing in his father's twisted mind, all that he knew was that he was angry.

But still, Nuka's temper started to flare, "Father I always listen to you even if it doesn't seem right. And the one time I don't, or I screw up and this is how you act? I do everything that I can to prove to you that I'm worthy of my title of prince. I do everything that I can to show you that I am a good son! And yet, I mess up one time and I get chastised like I've screwed up every time just as Mheetu or Kifu did!" Nuka growled slightly and narrowed his eyes, "What's the truth father? You don't even like me do you? I'm just another failed attempt for you to get a cub that looks and thinks just like you aren't I? Sorry to burst your bubble father, but I'm looking like the closest thing you can get," Such anger from Nuka was rare, something that he didn't even think he could unleash. Especially to someone as important as his own father. But there were accusations, showing Scar that Nuka wasn't as dumb as everyone thought he was, he knew his father's game by now and quite frankly he was sick of it. The prince didn't even want to look at his father anymore, and what his father said next killed him. The future king will need protection, after all. My son. That was the last straw, how could he even know that his perfect son would be born within his mother's next litter. Nuka was the oldest from his mother's womb and he had every right before his unborn siblings to rule.

"How dare you say that father, how could you even know if your heir is in that litter? I'm the oldest, I'm the strongest! How do you know I'm not going to end up with sisters out of mother's next litter? You seem to be very proficient with making those, failed daughters who are only baggage for you to carry. All of your daughters are failures, just like you are," Harsh words erupted from the cub's mouth and his eyes narrowed. He wanted nothing more than to rip into his father and claim the kingdom as his own right then and there. Nuka grabbed the gazelle and padded off before turning back around once he was a short yet safe distance away from the russet king. "I don't understand how Ari could have loved you, even if it was her nature to be kind. And yet you repay her with this. I was going to let her be queen alongside me, but no, not even her memory will live on. I hate you Scar, I am no son of yours," With that, the battle lines had been drawn, it was clear that Nuka was never going to see the light of being king of the Pridelands. From now on Nuka would stay far away from his sire, not even giving him a passing glance. He would rejoice in all of his differences, and he would hate the name of his father. He would resent everyone that lay loyal to him besides his mother, for he could never hate his mother. Prey in his mouth, Nuka ran with tears in his eyes to his mother, knowing that he wouldn't get the praise he so yearned for, only chastisement for being too soft. Something snapped in Nuka that day, but what that was is yet to be seen.