him!

            "I'm gonna do it!" he cried out, pouncing along to try and reach the plains. A rustle came from his left flank, making Abel pause his step to carefully listen. Was it a hornbill he disturbed, or something else? His heart began to thunder, the noise clouding his ears. His tiny claws unsheathed themselves. This was it! This was his chance!

            Abel slowly crept towards the rustling bush, licking his maw in anxiousness. When he got within jumping distance, however, he froze. Something didn't smell right. He knew what hornbill and meerkat smelled like (how could he not, with Zazu and Timon around?), but this was nothing like that. This was something different, and it sent a chill down his spine.

            Before he knew what to react to, a shadow lunged from the bush, knocking him over onto his backside. Abel squealed loudly as the shadow stood over him, slowly revealing its glistening sharp teeth to him. This was another lion!

            "W-Wait! I-I'm a l-lion too!" Abel cried. Then he screamed as pain stung his face.

            Roars from all sides, all around him, emerged, and Abel soon felt the weight of the paw that had been crushed against his chest released. Tears stung both his eyes. As he struggled to sit up, he felt something bit into the nape of his neck, and pick him up from the ground.

            "No, no, don't hurt me!" he cried out, thrashing frantically left and right to escape his foe.

            "Abel, it's me, your grandmother."

            Abel froze at this. "Gramma Nala?"

            "Let's get you home."

            The only thing he heard behind him was the battle cries of a furious pride.

~*~

            Abel was still crying when Kiara and the rest of the pride returned. Nala had cleaned up his face, which was now riddled with three deep scars across his face, but the adrenaline and fear he was feeling was too much for his tiny body. All he wanted was to make his mother happy.

            Nala left him as soon as his parents entered the den, and Abel was quickly pulled and seated into Kiara's clutches. He looked up at her with one eye, and only felt more tears come to his face when he saw the disappointed look on her face.

            "What were you doing?" she growled. "You could've gotten killed out there! Don't you realize how worried you made me?"

            Abel's gaze drifted to his father, who also had the same disappointed and scolding look on his face. He began crying again.

            Sighing, Kiara pulled him against her chest, burying her face into his backside. "I'm sorry Abel."

            "I-I just w-w-wanted t-to make y-y-you happy!" he sobbed into her fur.

            "Abel, if Zazu hadn't spotted you..."

            "It's been a long night, how about we all go to sleep?" suggested Defir, who nuzzled into Kiara's side. He leaned over and licked Abel. "It's all right, Abel. No one's blaming you."

            The crying cub pulled away from his mother and stared back at his father in wonder. "R-Really?"

            Defir nodded, smiling. "Yes, it's all right."

            Kiara sighed. "Just don't do that again, okay? I'll smile, Abel. I promise."

            "Mommy, are you sad?"

            Abel felt his mother cringe, and tears stung his eyes again. Was she also going to cry?

            "...No, Abel. I'm not sad. I'm just thinking."

            "What're you thinking of, Mommy?"

            "Just some things I'll tell you about when you get older, okay? Now go to sleep. It will be a long day tomorrow."

            Abel pulled away completely and gazed up at Kiara. "Mommy, how does my face look?"

            "...Handsome. Like a little prince."

            That stopped all the tears for Abel, and he curled up in his mother's embrace, comforted by the fact that he was her little prince.

~*~

            She had lied to him. He wasn't handsome. Not anymore.

            When Abel looked into the puddle of water the next day, he found himself staring down at a cub who had three deep scars embedded in his face. His mother had quickly came to his side, licked his face, and beckoned him to follow her.

            However, every day he went down to the small pool of water, to stare down at a lion who was not handsome. No, the cub who stared back at him seemed different. There was no innocence or joy in his eyes. No happiness, and no smile. Just a sad face. Perhaps sad because his face was no longer handsome. Abel wondered about that, and each morning he went to that pool of water soon began to realize that it was he who was sad. Just like how his mother had been all that time ago.

            Months began to pass, and Abel grew. Other cubs were born in the pride, but unlike before, Abel felt scared of them. They might notice his scars! They would make fun of him! Kiara and Defir, and his grandparents, were quick to tell him that the scars looked fine on him, that he hadn't changed.

            Except everything had changed.

            Two years passed now since Abel gained his scars, and once again he found himself staring into the pool of water before him. A dark mane, much like his father's, was beginning to grow in spurts. Soon it would completely fill out. He was still scrawny, but was slowly building some muscle on him. He knew that he would never be at the same size as his father or grandfather, however.

            His body might've changed.

            But the scars remained.

            "Hey, Abel!" He turned to find one of the many cubs born last year facing him. "Wanna come play?"

            Smiling weakly, Abel shook his head.

            The cub frowned. "You never play with us! Come play!"

            He shook his head again, this time with more force. The weak smile was slowly beginning to fade.

            "PLEEEEEEASE?"

            His claws unsheathed themselves. Abel quickly had the passing vision of him clawing at this cub, ruining his face. Yes, that would show him.

            "Hibaku, he's boring, he doesn't want to play with us!" cried one of the other cubs. There were five of them in their own small pride, staring at him. Abel felt his face scrunch up in irritation.

            Hibaku turned his gaze from Abel to his friends, and then back at Abel again. Finally seeing that Abel would not play with him, he turned and abandoned the young lion to his own thoughts.

            Sighing and feeling some peace at last, Abel turned his gaze back to the pool of water before him. Something changed though. Staring back at him was a lioness, whose color was not too as different as his, though had more brown in it. She too had scars, only they were on her neck.

            And she was smiling at him.

            I would've taught him a lesson, she