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Description
This is both my entry for 's competition (check it out here [link] ), and it's also my submission for number 27 (Foreign) of the 100 Themes Challenge I'm doing - I'll change the name when the comp is over.

Storytime! This is an except from my ONE OF US comic, so if you're interested in that, this is part of the storyline. Enjoy!

***

Only when Pride Rock was at last in sight, did Mohatu falter and allow the full realisation of what he had done to finally sink in. He sat down heavily, and carefully opened his mouth, releasing a tiny cub gently onto the ground. The cub stirred a little; she had fallen asleep while being carried. This toughness surprised Mohatu at first, but then reminded him of the difficult life she had come from.

Her mother, Majaribu, was the malevolent leader of another pride. Maja had taken advantage of Mohatu’s shy, solitary nature; that was true, but he knew he was still to blame. An unwilling King, he had withdrawn from his duties, left them to his advisors, had known little of the threats beyond his lands. And now he had paid the price for his ignorance. He felt as bitter as ever, knowing he had been played, knowing that the result of his foolishness – this tiny cub – was only a means to an end for that malicious outsider. He had had to steal her.

Glancing up at his distant home, hazy in the evening sun, he thought of the uproar this would cause amongst the pride and he felt his stomach turn. Had this really been the right thing to do?

...Yes.

It had to be.

Majaribu would have raised her as little more than ammunition against the Pridelands, a political weapon with royal blood in its veins, and thus a claim to the throne once Mohatu was dead. The cub did not deserve to be used like that; nobody deserved that, consequences be damned. She was only a cub.

He felt the pressure of a tiny spine flexing and leaning against his toes. With a flicker of unexpected affection in his belly, for the first time Mohatu really looked at his new daughter. He felt his lips curl into the faintest smile at the word.

Daughter.

She physically resembled her mother – a dirty brown, with that strange sharp nose, dark shades contrasting heavily with those bright, exotic eyes which studied him now. She was quite clearly of foreign blood, bad blood from a vicious pride - everyone would recognize that. There was a softness, though, about the tiny bundle of fur - which Mohatu thought just might be his. He had seen the fear in her eyes at the mention of her mother’s name, seen the careful, watchful step she had taken backward; speaking volumes about a nature that would never force others forward. He saw the trust in her now, as she rested her weary head against his uplifted paw.

He did not know what name Majaribu had intended for the cub – if any - and he did not care. He would name her Uru; a diamond to be nurtured in the rough of her bad blood.

Mohatu took a deep breath and pulled his baby daughter close. They would rest another minute or two, before heading home to face the aftermath.

***

This is my story, and my character designs. Uru and Mohatu belong to Disney or whoever originally drew them, no copyright intended is infringement. Yes.

Fun Facts About My Mohatu

~ He limps. One of his back legs was injured by a snake and has remained lame since.
~ He's quite a small lion, about the size of Scar. That's how tiny Uru is in this scene.
~ He was not first in line to be king, and due to his introverted nature he never wanted to be king. His brother Mosi died young, and Mohatu was forced onto the throne. He is generally seen as an absentee leader, with the affairs of the Pridelands largely being governed by Mohatu's advisors, of which he employed many.
~ Due to his reclusive nature, Mohatu never took a mate in his life. Uru was his only cub.

I will relate more of the story, including the snake fight, his brother's death, and how Uru met Ahadi, in more scenes like this, in 'chapters'.

Description
This is both my entry for 's competition (check it out here [link] ), and it's also my submission for number 27 (Foreign) of the 100 Themes Challenge I'm doing - I'll change the name when the comp is over.

Storytime! This is an except from my ONE OF US comic, so if you're interested in that, this is part of the storyline. Enjoy!

***

Only when Pride Rock was at last in sight, did Mohatu falter and allow the full realisation of what he had done to finally sink in. He sat down heavily, and carefully opened his mouth, releasing a tiny cub gently onto the ground. The cub stirred a little; she had fallen asleep while being carried. This toughness surprised Mohatu at first, but then reminded him of the difficult life she had come from.

Her mother, Majaribu, was the malevolent leader of another pride. Maja had taken advantage of Mohatu’s shy, solitary nature; that was true, but he knew he was still to blame. An unwilling King, he had withdrawn from his duties, left them to his advisors, had known little of the threats beyond his lands. And now he had paid the price for his ignorance. He felt as bitter as ever, knowing he had been played, knowing that the result of his foolishness – this tiny cub – was only a means to an end for that malicious outsider. He had had to steal her.

Glancing up at his distant home, hazy in the evening sun, he thought of the uproar this would cause amongst the pride and he felt his stomach turn. Had this really been the right thing to do?

...Yes.

It had to be.

Majaribu would have raised her as little more than ammunition against the Pridelands, a political weapon with royal blood in its veins, and thus a claim to the throne once Mohatu was dead. The cub did not deserve to be used like that; nobody deserved that, consequences be damned. She was only a cub.

He felt the pressure of a tiny spine flexing and leaning against his toes. With a flicker of unexpected affection in his belly, for the first time Mohatu really looked at his new daughter. He felt his lips curl into the faintest smile at the word.

Daughter.

She physically resembled her mother – a dirty brown, with that strange sharp nose, dark shades contrasting heavily with those bright, exotic eyes which studied him now. She was quite clearly of foreign blood, bad blood from a vicious pride - everyone would recognize that. There was a softness, though, about the tiny bundle of fur - which Mohatu thought just might be his. He had seen the fear in her eyes at the mention of her mother’s name, seen the careful, watchful step she had taken backward; speaking volumes about a nature that would never force others forward. He saw the trust in her now, as she rested her weary head against his uplifted paw.

He did not know what name Majaribu had intended for the cub – if any - and he did not care. He would name her Uru; a diamond to be nurtured in the rough of her bad blood.

Mohatu took a deep breath and pulled his baby daughter close. They would rest another minute or two, before heading home to face the aftermath.

***

This is my story, and my character designs. Uru and Mohatu belong to Disney or whoever originally drew them, no copyright intended is infringement. Yes.

Fun Facts About My Mohatu

~ He limps. One of his back legs was injured by a snake and has remained lame since.
~ He's quite a small lion, about the size of Scar. That's how tiny Uru is in this scene.
~ He was not first in line to be king, and due to his introverted nature he never wanted to be king. His brother Mosi died young, and Mohatu was forced onto the throne. He is generally seen as an absentee leader, with the affairs of the Pridelands largely being governed by Mohatu's advisors, of which he employed many.
~ Due to his reclusive nature, Mohatu never took a mate in his life. Uru was his only cub.

I will relate more of the story, including the snake fight, his brother's death, and how Uru met Ahadi, in more scenes like this, in 'chapters'.