Deviation Actions
Literature Text
Disclaimer: I own nothing in this story. All Lion King characters belong to Disney. The OCs in this story belong to me.
Zira had grown up in the Mudlands with her family as well as the other lionesses who lived there. In the Mudlands, they didn’t have a monarchy, so Zira’s parents were considered the ‘leaders’ of the area.
She was a troublemaker, always trying to find a way to leave the pride’s boundaries which was on the other side of the river that goes through their land.
“Zira! You know we can’t go beyond the river!” Jamila called out with an annoyed expression.
“Yeah, quit being such a rule breaker, Zira!” Naba added in agreement.
Zira was close to crossing when her parents, Ushenzi and Asili, had got her out of the river.
“How many times do we have to tell you to not go beyond the river?! You could get killed by another pride or drown in quicksand or the river!” Ushenzi scolded his daughter.
Ushenzi had amber eyes, a dark brown mane, and brown fur with bags under his eyes.
“Father, I’m not a baby anymore! I just want to know what’s on the other side.” Zira groaned.
“Listen to your father, Zira.” Asili said with a stern expression.
Asili had brown eyes, a light brown tail, and dark yellow fur.
“All I want to do was explore…this place is so boring, I hate it here!” Zira grumbled in annoyance.
“Serves her right that she got yelled at!” Naba laughed.
“We told her not to cross.” Jamila grinned.
“Jeez, when will she ever learn?” Uchafu, another cub, sighed in disappointment.
“I heard that! Quit making fun of me!” Zira yelled at them.
“It’s your own fault you tried to cross the river!” Jamila pointed out.
Zira rolled her eyes at the three cubs before saying, “Girls, I’m afraid that it’s time for me to say farewell to this place!”
“What?!” Naba gasped in surprise.
“I hate it here, so I’m off to see what’s beyond the river.” Zira declared happily.
“But you can’t! Your parents would get so worried!” Jamila protested with a shocked expression.
“So what? I’m going to leave here anyways!” Zira smiled in determination. “I’m also going to start my own pride where nothing is forbidden and we can go wherever we want!”
“No rules or order? Keep dreaming, Zira!” Uchafu scoffed.
“Someday, you’ll see and regret you all laughed at me…” Zira grumbled before leaving.
Sometime later, she finally left and began her journey, but she was stopped once she approached a fallen tree that was acting as a bridge for her to get across.
“Zira, where are you going?” A voice asked.
She turned and saw her twin brother, Nuka, standing there in confusion. Nuka had brown eyes, a dark brown mane tuff, and dark yellow fur.
“Nuka, go back to the den and don’t tell mother and father where I’m going.” The light brown cub answered sternly.
“There’s no way I’ll let my big sister go off on her own!” Nuka grinned.
“I’m older than you by a few minutes…” Zira grumbled.
“Anyways, whatever you’re up to, I’ll be there with you.” Nuka told his sister.
The two continued on their journey until it started raining and they took shelter in a nearby den that was empty where they slept for the night.
The next day, the two woke up and decided to continue the expedition to see the area beyond the Mudlands.
“Are you ready, Nuka?” She asked her brother.
“I was born ready!” Nuka answered happily.
In the main Mudlands area, Ushenzi and Asili were trying to look for their cubs, but to no avail.
“Zira! Nuka!” They called out.
“Oh, where are they? I hope nothing bad happened to them…” Asili sighed in worry.
“Naba, Jamila, have you seen Nuka or Zira lately?” Ushenzi asked the two cubs.
“No, not since yesterday.” Naba answered.
“Zira said that she was leaving this place to start her own pride and see what was beyond the river, but I hadn’t seen her since.” Jamila added.
Back with Zira and Nuka, the two cubs were crossing another fallen tree that was over the river.
“Whoa, so we can just cross these things without mom and dad yelling us?” Nuka questioned in amazement.
“Exactly, that’s why I wanted to leave.” Zira replied with a nod.
Unknown to them, Jamila’s mother, Haramu, had spotted them crossing as she was on her way back from hunting.
“Oh no, those are Ushenzi and Asili’s cubs!” She gasped to herself before running over to the two leaders. “Ushenzi, Asili! Your cubs are crossing the river!”
“What?!” Asili exclaimed in surprise.
“No!” Ushenzi yelled.
Back with the cubs, they were still crossing the log across the river until Nuka felt it wobbling.
“Uh, Zira? I think we should go home. This log is a bit unstable.” Nuka suggested.
“Then, turn back, dearest brother!” Zira taunted.
“Don’t be a fool!” Nuka yelled at her.
Zira just rolled her eyes and just kept walking, the sound of wood snapping being heard as they walked. Back with their parents, Asili and Ushenzi continued their search for their cubs.
“Nuka! Zira!” Asili called out as she looked around.
“Keep searching, Asili! We can’t lose them!” Ushenzi commanded urgently.
“Come on, we’re almost on the other side.” Zira told her brother with a mischievous grin.
“Zira, don’t!” Nuka yelled before the part of the log snapped and fell which made him grab onto the end Zira was on. “Uh oh…help me, Zira!”
“Nuka! Quick, grab my paw!” Zira gasped, holding out her paw for her younger brother.
Nuka began reaching out for his sister’s paw, but his other paw slipped, making him fall towards the river.
“ZIRA!!!” He screamed before falling into the river.
“NUKA, NOOOOOOO!” Zira yelled in agony as she watched the river sweep away.
Suddenly, she felt her end of the log slipping down. Zira screamed and jumped off of the log and onto the riverbank on the other side before she passed out…
