Chapter 22 22: An abrupt war

[1st POV] (2 Years Old) Another six months slipped by in the blink of an eye. Time moved strangely in this world, faster in some ways, slower in others. Yet my growth was equally relentless. Through intense training and a diet that could only be described as gluttonous, I had forged a body that defied nature's timeline. By the time I turned two, I had already grown to the size of a fully matured male lion. What would take others five to six long years of gradual progress, I had achieved in less than half the time. I really should not be this big at my age. It was not just my size either; my frame was broader than other males, my limbs were thick with muscle, and my bones carried a heaviness that gave weight to each step I took. My build was turning more tiger-like than the awkward design of a lion. The scariest part about it all was that I still have yet to be fully grown. A normal lion generally grows for five or six years, which meant I had at least three more years of progress ahead of me. I couldn't even imagine what kind of beast I would become at that age. Perhaps I could become twice the size of any other male lion, easily dwarfing the likes of Mufasa in his prime. That was not really outrageous in my mind when I take into account my technical training and my diet. Even among humans of the same species, the World's Strongest Man could be up to three times the size of the average man of the same race and species. My only limit would be my genetics. Other than the growth of my body mass, my mane had grown in, too. While it lacked the thickness and royal fullness of an elder lion's, it was a complete mane nonetheless. Strands of dark fur framed my face like a burning halo, slowly shifting in hue with each passing moon. The warm browns of my cubhood were giving way to something deeper, darker, and more intense. I had once wondered if I would grow up to resemble my father, the great golden lion who once ruled over the Pride Lands. But it seemed that golden radiance was not meant for me. Which kinda sucked since I thought Mufasa looked really cool and majestic and would love to look like him. Instead of gold, my mane darkened with every surge of testosterone that coursed through my veins because apparently, more testosterone resulted in darker manes. I unfortunately started resembling Scar when it came to my mane. And there was nothing I could do about it. ... On another topic, the promised drought from my memories had not struck the Pride Lands yet. The rivers still flowed, the trees still bore fruit, and prey still roamed the plains in satisfying numbers. Life was, by all appearances, stable. Peaceful even. We were still thriving and living in abundance. That made me thoughtful about the exact time gap between Simba running away and returning to the Pride Lands. According to the events I remembered, Simba had been fully grown when he returned to challenge Scar for the throne. He was bigger than Scar, even. That would require at least six years of natural growth for Simba. Which meant the climax of the story was still four years away at least. The drought would come maybe two years before that. "That means Simba and his friends were singing Hakuna Matata for almost six years," I said with a chuckle. My voice came out rough due to the prey I was holding between my jaw. The afternoon sun beat down on my back as I trotted toward Pride Rock with a half-eaten zebra. It was not late, the sun would take three or four more hours to set. I had eaten my fill, but the rest I carried home, dragging it across the savanna. You might be wondering for whom I was doing this. It was not for Scar, not for the lioness, not even for Zuri. It was for the cubs. And by cubs, I meant the newest addition to the pride. They had become old enough to finally eat meat, but recently, food had been a bit scarcer for them. Not because of a lack of prey, but because the hyenas had grown bolder. They often lingered at the edge of our feasting grounds, waiting for scraps and eating everything before the cubs had enough time to eat their fill. They would not die of hunger because of it, but they were not full, and I couldn't accept that. I was the older brother after all, and I wanted them to sleep with full bellies. Whether or not they were Scar's offspring didn't matter to me. Bloodlines were irrelevant when they looked at me with wide, innocent eyes, and tripped over their own paws. I think I've said this before, but lion cubs were absolutely adorable. They were literally kittens, and I've come to cherish them. The air grew warmer as I approached the den. It was the perfect hour to return. Scar usually spent this time patrolling the borders of the Pride Lands and as you could've guessed, I was avoiding him. We weren't on good terms, to put it lightly. In fact, we hadn't been for some time now. The tension between us had first flared six months ago when I disappeared for three days, and it hadn't simmered since. In fact, the tension between us had only grown, We were like dry grass and flint, a spark away from a wildfire. Every look he gave me was tinged with suspicion. Every word he said to me came with a warning hidden beneath. Two-year-old male lions were at the prime time of being kicked out of the pride. I was trying my best to delay the inevitable. But as I climbed the rocky path that led to the den, I caught the scent of Scar. I stopped immediately, wondering why he had not gone for his usual patrol. I stood there for a moment, contemplating whether to go in anyway or go out into the wild and wait for him to leave the den. But my moment of contemplation was broken when I heard a scuffle from inside. Scar's roar of annoyance was distinctive, but Zuri's angry growls were even more so. I dropped the zebra and ran to the entrance of the den immediately. My presence was welcomed with a beat of silence as everyone inside the den turned to me. On the other hand, my entire focus was on Scar, who was putting his paw on Zuri's open belly. She was lying on her back, her ears were pinned back to show aggression. She was baring her teeth and claws at the king, but you could tell that she was in a losing position. I could already smell it in the air, but the flash of Scar's dick was enough to give context to the situation. "Haaaa...." Surprisingly, I was eerily calm for a moment as I assessed the situation. Zuri was my age, only two years old. And females reach their sexual maturity at around three or four years. So why would Scar try to mate with her? On one hand, it could be that Scar, in all his villainy, was a pedophile. On another hand, it could be because of me. Zuri and I were very close, even among the pride. Everyone knew that. And recently, we had been going hunting together or wandering off together more often than other times. Scar was likely threatened by that, and he was wondering if she had already reached maturity and had been mating with me. Plus, he wanted to assert his dominance over me and mate with the lioness I fancy. Regardless of the reason, this was unacceptable. He was trying to take what was mine. 'I wanted to delay this....' I thought in my mind, but that line of thought disappeared really quickly as anger surged from the deepest depths of my soul. The eerie calm was gone in seconds as rage consumed me. And I did not try to stop my anger this time, I embraced it. Scar was able to match my energy in seconds. It almost seemed like he was waiting for me, like he was planning for this exact scenario. That was odd. But it was too late for coherent thoughts. Two beasts collided. Fang for Fang. Claw for Claw. The battle for dominance began abruptly. ... ... [Leo's build must see Image] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Two chapters today!!!