paixaorpg | The Scar On His Face [Completed]

Entry tags:

The Scar On His Face [Completed]

Character(s): Kovu, Lightning
Content: A certain someone now matches a rather vague description of Scar that was given to Lightning...
Setting: Somewhere in the Northeast quadrant of the city
Time: Sunset
Warnings: Uh. Maybe some violence, probably some emo, lots of snark...

As much as it kept reminding Kovu of him, the scar really wasn't that bad. Every time he saw it in his reflection, it only served to remind him how much he wasn't like Scar, and to make him more determined to keep it that way. And it told him exactly what his mother thought of him now, too. What a reminder. But he didn't need either of them.

He had Kiara, and she was everything he could've asked for. And...he sort of had Simba around now, too. And Timon and Pumbaa, for what they were worth. He was meeting a lot of new people here, and it wasn't so hard anymore...well, when the way he'd been raised didn't come up, anyway. That usually put a damper on things. Either that, or got him stared at. How was he supposed to know that his normal activities were so much more violent than everyone else's? It did remind him of the night right before he'd come here though, when he was looking at the stars with Kiara and had said that one group of them looked like lions killing each other. She'd probably given him the oddest look...he could barely even remember now, it felt like forever ago.

He flicked his tail, for once actually just walking around the city. He figured he should try to find something interesting, or at least somewhere for him and Kiara to stay that his mother didn't know about. Who knew what would happen if she found them again...

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Unfortunately for Kovu, he was about to cross paths with someone who would be far worse for him than his mother. Lightning was taking her usual patrol of the city, looking around for any lions or other disturbances. She had descriptions of two to watch out for and all the others would be given the benefit of the doubt. If they acted out of the terms she'd offered, they would be on her list as well.

She'd just crossed into the northeast area when she thought she saw the flicker of a black mane out of the corner of her eye. Turning, she tucked herself into the crowd and then beside a building or two, slowly pulling out her weapon. If she'd just seen what she thought she'd seen, her quarry was just within reach. Now she just had to flush him out.

Whoever had decided it was a good idea to stalk Kovu was doing a worse job of it than Kiara would have. The human hadn't done anything to try to mask her scent--he could even tell it was a female already--and whatever she was wearing was making a lot of noise when she moved. He kept picking up faint thunking noises, and none of the other bipeds made that sound when they walked.

He was going to just ignore her, but then the sound stopped, while the scent was definitely still nearby. Great, someone really was trying to surprise him. Well, whoever they were, they had another thing coming if they thought it was going to be that easy. He'd had more training against sneak attacks than any lion had much right to, thanks to his mother, and if this human thought she'd be able to surprise him she'd find herself dealing with his teeth and claws before she could even see what was happening.

He turned his head to scan the crowd, but he couldn't quite figure out where it was she was hiding. At least she was smart enough not to breathe as loud as she walked.

Normally, Lightning only had to worry about humans and they weren't nearly as perceptive as animals. She was a bit out of practice when it came to real stalking, but that didn't mean much of anything. She kept a close eye on the beast once she spotted the mane again. In between humans, she could see flickers of his fur and eventually came to the conclusion that this was one of the lions.

Now to see if it was one of the threatening variety.

She waited until it turned its face, eyes widening when she got a glimpse of the scar above his left eye. Scar. Lightning's teeth ground silently together at the sight of that and she steeled herself to attack as soon the beast turned away again.

"You aren't getting away," she whispered to herself just before she threw herself out from behind the buildings and swung her blade at Scar. He'd be lucky to see her before she got there.

Kovu whipped around, claws extended, and swatted the blade away with a roar before he even knew what it was. He'd learned long ago to react before thinking.

He brought his claws back up to bear down on the arm that held the blade, roaring a second time in challenge.

Lightning's first response to something clawing for her sword arm - and something that big in the first place - was to aim a Ruin at his face. With any luck, she wouldn't need to follow through with her blade, but that was her next move. If he didn't get out of her way quickly, he was going to meet a rather pointed end.

The tips of the fur on Kovu's muzzle singed back as the sudden burst of energy hit him. He growled and jumped backward, well out of range of that sharp edge. What was that light though? His eyes narrowed at the human, some wisps of smoke rising from where her attack had hit him. This was the first moment he got a chance to really get a good look at her.

His body wanted to get back into the fight, but Kovu hung back. "What..." he panted, "...is your...problem? I didn't even do anything to you!"

And here he'd been, thinking that somehow, Paixao would be different for him from the Pride Lands. So much for that idea.

It talked? Lightning's eyebrows rose just a little bit. She wasn't stupid, though, and never let her guard down. The warrior in her just watched carefully as her opponent hung back.

"Maybe not, but you've done something to someone else. That's good enough."

She didn't attack right away, preferring to watch to see what he would do now.

What?

"What are you talking about?! I haven't done anything to anyone!" An angry growl rolled under Kovu's words. His whole body was tense, ready to jump and either defend himself or attack at soon as this female moved a muscle. He wasn't going to let her hit him again.

"You and your mate have." Lightning let out a frustrated huff of air.

"This is pointless." And with that, she attacked again, sending out another Ruin spell - that he'd probably be able to dodge - before she moved towards him with her blade again. They were wasting valuable time arguing stupidly. The longer this lion creature was alive, the more people were in danger.

"My...what?"

This time, the human was extremely easy to predict. He was well out of the way of both that light thing and the blade before she was even close, and if he'd wanted to take advantage of it she'd left her back exposed. But instead, he moved further away.

"Do you even know who I am you idiot? I don't have a mate!" Kiara could not be who this woman was talking about. And just because he and Kiara were in love...that was different. At least...it was right now.

"Tch."

These lions were all a bunch of idiots. Lightning scowled, whipping around to face him again to see what he was going to do next.

"You fit the description I was given. You're Scar. Your mate is Zira."

For a minute, she held off, waiting to see what he would do before she made her next move. The stupid thing also talked too much.

Kovu felt like someone had just thrown him off a cliff. That scar...that stupid scar! All he could do was feel angry. There weren't any words, he didn't move, he didn't do anything but growl. But the rage quickly gave way, and buckled under a much stronger feeling of guilt. It had been at Kovu's heels for a long time now.

He flinched visibly, and threw his head to the side--to his left side, so that she wouldn't be able to look at his scar anymore.

"Zira...isn't my mate," he said, a growl rumbling under the words. "She's...my mother."

A small silence followed. Kovu was letting that sink into this human's thick skull.

"And if I ever here about Scar again, it'll be too soon. I never want to hear about either of them ever again."

"Tch, you expect me to believe that?"

But Lightning watched him closely, trying to sense his... emotions or whatever was going on under that scar. This beast met the description she'd gotten of Scar. How many lions were there and how many would look like this?

"Prove it, then. Prove you aren't Scar."

Kovu's jaw dropped. "How am I supposed to do that? Magically make him show up here? Bring my mother here so she can try to kill me again? Are you that stupid?"

Where was Kiara when he needed her? Or her father, or even Timon...or Vitani! Anyone! This human was just as judgmental as everyone in the Pride Lands. He'd been blamed too many times for Scar's crimes, and there was nothing he could do about it but try to argue. He couldn't prove anything like this, and even if he could this idiot human would probably come up with some stupid reason not to believe him anyway.

What was the point?

Lightning didn't like admitting that she might have been wrong... but when it came to innocent lives. She'd done her fair share of innocent killing. Besides that, if this really was Scar... he would have tried to prove it or laughed at her for her actions, as any normal villain would have. Or been all smug about it. Like Nabaat and Dysley. Lightning's jaw set as she thought about them.

Eventually, she stood up straight again and let her blade rest at her side. She didn't put it away yet, though, just let it stay by her side.

"Walk with me."

It was both a request and a demand: whatever his response was, he would be the one to seal his fate.

Kovu scoffed at the offer and looked down at his paws, his tail flicking.

"I have better things to do than take a walk with some human." He spat the word out with as much venom as he could muster, bringing an almost audible sneer to his voice. He thought he'd had some of this place figured out, and for a while, he thought he almost had it better here.

And now if it hadn't been before, now it was painfully obvious that he'd been dead wrong.

"Hate to interrupt your bonding time," a smooth, feminine voice sounded from above them, "but I think it's about time I intervened." Descending from the sky, Urd smiled at them both. Her feet touching the ground in front of Kovu, she tossed her hair back as she faced Lightening.

"You've got the wrong lion. Trust me."

"Tch, good to know you've just shown-"

Lightning jumped back at the sound of the new voice, bringing her blade back up protectively. She'd been about to say that this lion had basically just screwed himself, but now her attention was on this new threat and she didn't like it.

"How do you know?" she asked tersely, keeping an eye on both the woman and the stupid lion.

Kovu took a few steps back when the voice floated down from above him, then scowled at the human woman again.

"You think just maybe it's because she's right?!" Kovu was about ready to roar for all his frustration with this woman. How could anyone be so near-sighted?

But...Who was this who was stepping in? He looked her up and down suspiciously, but she didn't smell even close to human. Sure, a little of their stink wafted around her, but not much, and she definitely wasn't the source of it. She almost smelled like...flowers, or the air before a storm. Whatever her scent was though, Kovu already liked her a little. Standing up for him was something that rarely happened, and a stranger doing it won a lot of Kovu's respect.

"Thanks," he whispered softly, so that the human wouldn't hear him.

She cast a glance behind her at Kovu, giving him a small encouraging smile before focusing on Lightning again. "I know because Scar is way more charming than this guy. I know because there are people I trust who want to believe in this one." Urd tilted her head, lifting a finger as she grinned at the woman.

"And I know because I'm a goddess! We've spoken on the network a couple of times, but I'll introduce myself properly. I'm Urd. Second Class Goddess, Administrative License. Nice to meet you~"

Edited 2011-05-07 21:47 (UTC)

"I was giving you a chance!" Lightning shot back at the lion, angry that he could be so arrogant. So much for thinking some of these guys were nice.

She stared at the woman for a bit, sizing her up, trying to figure her out. Who was this "Urd" to step in like this? But it didn't seem like they'd be getting anywhere and Lightning didn't want human bloodshed. Right. Goddess, her blade point.

"Lightning. I'll give him another chance, but if I hear one more word about lions killing people, it won't be pretty."

A goddess? What was that supposed to be? But Kovu didn't have much time to wonder before the human said something that pissed him off again.

"You call giving me orders a chance?! After you come out of nowhere and attack me for no reason?!" He looked back at his paws.

"You're no better than my mother," he spat, voice quieter and much darker. "You can't even look past what's right in front of your nose."

Urd cleared her throat, holding up a placating hand to Lightning. "Thank you. I know you're only trying to protect people...and I appreciate that. Anyone with any sense knows this isn't the safest place to be, with or without lions." She smiled mildly, glancing at Kovu. "Sometimes passionate people make snap judgments with the best of intentions. But I think we should all focus that fire where it's needed most."

Looking back to Lightning, she folded her arms. "I'll take it from here. No worries!"

Lightning ignored the lion. Clearly it didn't need her attention. However, this "goddess's" words about snap judgments caused her to scowl again.

"Someone gave me a description that he perfectly matches. If there's magically two of them, someone should have mentioned it."

But fine, in the interest of not getting herself killed, she'd leave this one alone. For now. Her expression clearly said that if he so much as looks wrong at a human, she'll snap him in half. Human lives were not things she bartered with anymore. Not after Serah and the Purge.

Glancing one last time at the lion, Lightning turned and walked away, ears open for any sound of an impending attack.

"And I thought everyone in the Pride Lands was bad..." Kovu said once Lightning was out of earshot. "At least they never tried to kill me..." He shook his head.

"Thanks again, though. I don't know what would've happened if you hadn't showed up. I think things were about to get a lot worse."

Urd sighed as she watched Lightning go. She was obviously a strong woman, perhaps with unshakeable principles and morals. Those were always the hardest to work with. Maybe in time, she'd be able to convince her that she was actually on her side.

For now, she focused on Kovu. "No problem. I think I might know what it's like, being compared to someone you'd rather not be compared to." She smiled a bit wryly. "Good thing we're the ones in charge of our destiny, not the people who raised us."

Kovu looked back up to Urd after focusing his gaze on his paws. "I just wish they couldn't make it so hard on us without even trying." Looking a little like Scar was one thing, but actually getting mistaken for him? That was a lot worse.

"What am I supposed to do if everyone keeps thinking I'm Scar? They'll all want me dead!"

She slowly sunk to her knees so she could meet his eyes better. "We're strong enough to roll with whatever punches they throw our way. We just need to show the world that we're not who they think we are. And it'll take some time and some people will be stubborn...but in the mean time, we have people -- or lions -- who will stick up for us. We have allies."

Urd smiled, placing her chin in her hands. "And now you have me on your side. No way you can go wrong."

"And what am I supposed to do if you don't make it in time?" Kovu knew he was being difficult, but that wasn't the only person who'd gotten all up in arms when his mother had attacked someone.

"You look like you could handle yourself in a fight," Urd said dryly, eyebrow raised. "And I don't think you'll get as many attacks as you think. This misunderstanding is bound to clear up. But just in case..." She reached up and took hold of one of the many small, narrow golden tubes attached to her hoop earring. Snapping it off, she closed her eyes and brought it to her lip. The words she spoke came out inhumanly fast, as if she were being fast-forwarded. A second later, a warm glow surrounded the little metal piece. She opened her eyes.

"If you trust me, this will help me keep track of you. Whenever you're in danger, this little thing will tell me. I'll hide it in your mane...if you'd let me."

Kovu just grinned when Urd said that, but the he remembered that weird...light...thing that he'd gotten hit with right in the face. "I can...but I don't even know what she hit me with."

That earring trick now meant that Kovu had definitely seen more strange things today than he had in pretty much his entire life. "...How could it do that?"

Urd tilted her head, musing. Maybe he didn't know what a sword was, technically, but if Lightning had hit him with it, surely he'd describe it. Did she use magic, then? Oi, another animal with no concept of powers like hers. She shrugged and gave him a small smile, reaching carefully into his dark mane to attach the small metal piece.

"She likely used magic. A lot of us here rely on more than just, uh...tooth and claw to get by. It's hard to explain, but think of us as people who can wield forces of nature." She looked into his eyes and withdrew her hand. "I know it's asking a lot to trust me, Kovu. So I understand if you want to ignore what I'm saying and just walk away. But I promise I'll do what I can to help you."

"Magic?" Kovu stiffened up when she reached toward him, but relaxed once her hand was gone. He could blame his mother for that one...it had been his reaction even to Kiara at first. "Nevermind, I probably wouldn't understand it if you tried to explain it to me anyway. Just like this whole castle...thing."

She chuckled, placing her chin back in her hands. "Yeah, it's pretty weird here, even by my standards. All things considered, you're handling it pretty well. Especially with the whole Scar thing." She tilted her head, dark eyes peering closely. "...I can already guess, but...how do you feel about Scar?"

Somehow, Urd had struck a nerve, even though all she'd done was ask a question. "Yeah, it should be obvious. Everything my mother ever told me about him was a lie." He cut himself off before he started yelling.

Rather than looking offended, Urd simply watched him calmly. "You're angry," she said quietly. "That's good. It'll keep things in perspective for you. Now I don't need to worry about him getting under your skin and manipulating you." I hope. She stood up and stretched her arms over her head.

"You should get back to the people who care about you. Kiara might be wondering where you are. Would you like an escort?"

"'Angry?' He ruined my life before I even had one!"

After a moment, Kovu calmed down, and he took a step back. "Sorry..." he said. "I know yelling at you won't do anything."

She shrugged. "Maybe not. Maybe it'll help you feel better. Either way, yelling isn't the worst thing I've dealt with." Urd smiled. "Now, you want that escort home or what?"

"Maybe. I wish it felt like it helped more, though." Kovu took a second to think about the offer of an escort. He'd never needed, or wanted one before.

"I'll be fine."

"I know you will." Urd rose up into the hair, smiling down at Kovu. "Remember, you can always come to me for help. But don't forget opening up to the people who are waiting for you." She paused for a moment, considering something.

"...and look out for Timon for me? He's a jerk sometimes but he's a better guy than most realize."

People who ware waiting for him? What was that supposed to mean...? The lion's confusion was plain.

"Uh...right," he answered after a second, to the thing about Timon. He knew Timon was a good guy and everything, but...the meerkat really needed to learn when to shut his trap.

She smiled, turning in the air. "Thanks. See you around, Kovu. Try not to start any fights on your way home~" With that, she flew away into the sky, gone as mysteriously as she appeared.

Flying...that was new. So was whatever that human had hit Kovu in the face with. He watched wide eyed as Urd flew away, then slowly brought his eyes back down to the street.

As he turned to go back to the apartment where Simba lived, he saw his reflection in a shop window, the scar over his left eye plain as day. Maybe it was going to make a bigger difference than he thought. But that didn't mean it had to, right? He could just ignore it until it came up, and all he had to do was find some way to prove that him and Scar weren't the same lion. Easier said than done, with how he looked, but maybe Timon would be able to think of something. He always seemed to have ideas...even if they weren't very good ones.

Scar was not going to rule his life anymore.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The Scar On His Face [Completed]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject