expectantly.

The lion rolled into a stance, a paw going at once to the side of his head. He hurt, but he did not remember why.

His mother asked who he was. He responded with his name. What did she take him for, a fool?

She asked of his purpose. He said, "To kill Simba. To return the Pride Lands to its rightful owners. To avenge Scar."

She asked of the daughter.

"What of her?" Kovu asked. "She is expendable, just like the rest."

For the shortest time, Kiara had seen the Outlands from her perch atop Pride Rock shrouded in the slightest sunlight, a far cry from the darkness that usually accompanied the borders of the Pride Lands.

She had smiled, remembering the lion she once met, who lived in the light-deprived corner of her world. But soon the clouds had swallowed up the little sunlight that had befallen the land. And then, though she could not explain why, she was sad.