he could see that already his father was gone from the kajobe. His mother slept alone, curled onto herself. 

Elewisa decided he too would leave the kajobe. He needed some fresh air, and in any case, the birds were now chirping, and he was incapable of sleeping with all that irritating noise filling his ears. 

Most of the lions were still asleep at this point, and Elewisa welcomed their absence. He was getting ready to follow a well trodden path down to a nearby watering hole when he caught a whiff of his father’s scent. 

Curiosity, thy name is Elewisa. 

El cleared his throat, contemplating whether to sneak away to find his father or quench his mild thirst. Believing himself a rebel, Elewisa of course chose the former. His thirst could wait. There would be other watering holes around. With a nose akin to a wild dog, Elewisa quickly managed to find the trail his father was trying to hide and followed it. For a while it simply led him inland through the pride lands. As he continued, El was surprised to find that he knew this path- had walked it before several months back. Continuing on this path would lead him to the outlands. 

This did not dissuade him from continuing. If anything, remembering what he had found out last time only made his paws move quicker in pursuit of his father. 

The trail suddenly changed course, and Elewisa faltered in his steps as he was made to change directions from the dry sands of the outlands border to the crisp green savannah. Maybe he was patrolling? Elewisa thought to himself, unsure of what to make of the unexpected turn. He continued to follow the scent of his father, reminding himself to be as quiet as possible in case he was not too far behind. Elewisa could tell he was getting close- the trail smelt stronger now, fresher. His father had been here not too long ago. El began to slow his pace until he was slinking through the grasses, ears adjusted to catch even a whisper of lion-like sounds. 

A giggle came from the bushes up ahead, and Elewisa froze in his spot, not wanting to alert whomever it was to his presence. He had been crouching in the grasses, but slowly he looked up from his hiding place. His father was there- though he had his back to Elewisa. On his father’s paws there stood a tiny scrap of fur. It looked like...a cub? Elewisa was confused, though he continued to watch the strange scene from the grasses. 

“He looks just like you.” His father spoke, and only then did Elewisa notice that there was another lion there- that same lioness he had seen several months before. She sighed wistfully, and nodded her agreement. “He has your eyes though.” She countered to Kovu, before rubbing her face into the king’s mane. 

Elewisa’s lips instinctively drew back, exposing teeth. What was happening? Since when did his father allow anyone to interact with him as such? Not even Kiara was seen being so affectionate with the irritable king. 

Then it dawned on him. 

She had said ‘he has YOUR eyes.’ His father’s eyes. That tiny scrap of fur had his father’s eyes. 

That tiny scrap of fur was his father’s son. 

Elewisa’s half brother.

“I spoke to the old baboon.” She said then, suddenly pulling back from his father and reclaiming Elewisa’s attention. “He says there’s nothing to be done. I only have a few more days.” 

His father stiffened. 

“Nothing?”

It was whispered, and in such an agonized tone that Elewisa for a second became convinced that whomever this lion was, it could not be his father. Since when did the king of the pride lands, the greatest tormeneter of Elewisa whisper? 

The lioness shook her head in response. “You must take him.” She said simply. “He must grow up loved, and cared for. I know this isn’t what you wanted-”

“Nonsense!” His father let out then, jumping to his paws. “If that is your wish then I will see it done.”

Elewisa felt as if he was intruding on something very private, and he knew then that this private meeting was not the first of its kind. A slimy thought began to take form in the back of his mind, one in which he would finally be able to cause his father some pain for allowing Areesa to be sent away. 

He was going to tell his mother everything. 

Elewisa whirled around, forgetting to take care not to make any noise. He hurled himself through the grasses and racked up speed, refusing to look back despite hearing his father desperately calling out his name. He was not going to let Kovu have this. Elewisa would be damned if he did. After all the screaming fits and threats, after sending his best friend away, after proving that he had no regard for Kiara, Elewisa would not allow him to get out of this unscathed. 

He had managed to find his mother just as she was on her way to visit his grandma. In all his haste he spilled forth everything he knew about the situation. Everything he had inferred, everything he had seen, and everything he suspected his father had done. 

Kiara’s face, at first confused and disbelieving, changed into a look of heartbroken resignation. Tears would soon silently spill over her face. When Elewisa was done, he finally realized the gravity of what he had done as he witnessed the effects of it on his mother. She refused to meet his eye. 

“Mom?” He asked quietly, after she had stood there with tears silently streaming down her face. The Queen shook her head. “I don’t want to speak with you right now. Go!” She snarled the last word, a paw of hers flying in the direction of Elewisa’s cheek. El managed to step back, but then he stood frozen as he contemplated what just happened. Never before in his entire life had his mother so much as raised her voice at him, let alone reacted so viciously. 

Elewisa felt his chest constricting. He couldn’t wrap his head around the why. Kovu was the one who had betrayed her- why was she so angry with him? His mother didn’t wait around for him to go. Instead the Queen stomped away in anger, refusing to acknowledge El no matter how loudly he called to her. 

A frown crossed his face, and tears followed. He didn’t dare to move for the entire day, sitting there with a dry throat and blurry eyes. His brother Gainell found him and managed to drag him to a den wherein he was given water from moss and the leg of a gazelle. 

“What were you thinking?” Gainell said to him as soon as Elewisa showed some signs of liveliness. 

Elewisa stared at his blue-eyed brother. “It was my blind ambition.” He started. 

“I was trying so hard to make him hurt- the same way he hurt me, but I never thought I’d be hurting her too in the process. I never meant for any of this to happen!” And he meant it- he had never once stopped to consider how his mother might take the news of her mate’s infidelity. The thought had never crossed his mind in the slightest. He had just been so focused on ousting his father! 

Gainell gave him an unimpressed look. 

“Why are you so upset?” He asked Elewisa, eyebrows quirked. 

El returned the question with a growl. “I didn’t do anything and yet I’m treated by my mother as if I’d helped facilitate this betrayal. How could I not be upset?!” 

Gainell shrugged. 

“I don’t think you feel bad that you hurt her, not really. I think you feel bad that she didn’t accept your poor excuses and apologies. You say you’re upset because she’s hurting, but I think that really, you’re just upset that she hasn’t given you what you want. You’re focused on the fact that she won’t speak to you, not even taking into account all the horrible things she must now be dealing with because of what you told her! Your intentions might not have been to hurt her, but that is the result.” 

Deep down, somewhere in the pits of logic and reason, Elewisa knew that his brother was correct, but in his anger he denied this knowledge. Instead, he elected to continue blaming his father for everything that had transpired. 

“She wouldn’t be dealing with so many horrible things if he’d just been a good mate to her. I didn’t decide to gallivant with another lioness and ignore my mate.”

Gainell sighed and shook his head at Elewisa. 

“You’re impossible.” He said simply, and then left Elewisa alone with his thoughts. 

Chapter Six

Elewisa often had a hankering for causing chaos, but on this day that hankering was especially strong. Mostly because he had barely gotten a wink of sleep the past weeks. He could barely keep his eyes awake. Every night he was plagued by that horrid dream. A shadow of himself that he couldn’t escape. A shadow that consumed him. When dawn broke, those wretched birds began their endless songs. It was a wonder to him that he could still stand properly. 

This morning the air smelled fresher, and it gave Elewisa hope, because he could scent the rainclouds on their way. If the sky poured, the birds would quiet, and he might be able to sleep for an hour. 

“El!” That was Gainell. Elewisa stifled a yawn as he shot his older brother an irate look. “What do you want at this time of day?” He asked irritably, his face twisting into a frown as he heard his brother’s reply. 

“Father wants to speak to us.” 

Elewisa dragged his heavy paws behind his brother, who was a little too chipper in the morning. The two lions quickly made their way to the cave underneath the