Written by: Caldafox
Story[]
There once was a lion cub named Kopa. He was the firstborn son of Simba and Nala. Kopa was extremely innocent and curious, and very playful. He knew several other lion cubs in his father's pride, as well as Afua, his best friend, and Pimbi, a hyrax. Kopa loved hearing stories from his father about his family. He was told stories about the great and bad past Kings.
Then one day, Kopa encountered Asante, a female hyena cub, who he saved from a snake. Although first wary of one another, the two became fast friends, not caring that they were two different species. Even though they were terrific friends, Kopa was afraid to introduce his new friend to his parents, who were distrustful of hyenas after the evils they had done. Thus, he stalled telling his parents about his new friend.
As he stalled, Kopa and Asante grew closer as friends. They realized they couldn't hold off telling Simba and Nala anymore.
When the two cubs arrived at Pride Rock, Simba and Nala were quite shocked when they saw Asante. Hadn't they told Kopa that hyenas were bad, through their stories about Scar? 7-month-old Kopa tried his best to explain to his parents that Asante was nice, and nothing like the hyenas his parents had encountered.
However, it was to no avail. Afraid for their cub's life, Simba and Nala told Kopa, after Asante had excused herself, that they could not remain friends.
Kopa was disappointed in his parents, and they were disappointed at him. He didn't want to eat that night, or talk with his grandmothers, Sarafina and Sarabi. Kopa was able to deal with his parents' slight overprotectiveness before - but this? Refusing him a genuine friend? He'd had enough of being restricted, even if it was for the better.
Under a canopy of stars, Kopa ran away that night. He looked back as he ran out of Pride Rock, whispered "Goodbye, mother...goodbye, father," and then ran off, heading to an unknown destination.
Kopa attempted to find Asante, but when he ran to the Outlands, the thick midnight darkness scared him. So he just looked back there, too, and then ran far, far away.
Simba and Nala had been petrified when they discovered their son was gone. They sent out search parties in every direction, but the lionesses could only go so far in a day before returning home. It seemed hopeless. Kopa was for sure gone - and they both knew exactly why he'd run off. The King and Queen worried for their son, and they felt terrible for rejecting Asante. Maybe Kopa had been right about her...
However, they had other things on their minds. Kiara was born one month after Kopa ran off (he'd been informed he would have a younger sibling). Simba and Nala tried to put the past behind them as they raised their adventurous daughter. She was a lot like Kopa, and Simba didn't want anything to happen to her. The rulers also had another son, Kion, who was born a few months after Kiara met her future mate, Kovu.
Kiara was next in line for leadership, while Kion led a team of animals that protected the Pride Lands: The Lion Guard. Like Kopa, Kiara also had lion friends. And Kion met a female hyena cub named Jasiri, who was a lot like Asante. This time, Simba and Nala didn't reject her.
As the years past, Kopa slowly began getting used to life on his own. He learned to hunt, defend himself, and survive sleeping out in the open. But when he was about 3 years old, he began feeling increasingly guilty about running off in vain. He hadn't taken Asante with him, or even said goodbye to her, so what was the point of running off?
The anger he'd felt at his parents had faded a long time ago. He began missing their love and caring presence. When he would look up at the stars and see "Mohatu", the first King of the Pride Lands, Kopa always thought of Simba, and all that he'd told him. He knew deep down that he had to somehow, someway, go back to the Pride Lands.
And that he did. He set off back towards home, soon being consoled by familiar landmarks. It took him several months before he made it to the border of the Pride Lands, and when he did, he was overjoyed. This area had grown extremely lush, with much shade, fruit and a stream nearby.
Then, out of the corner of his eye, Kopa saw a hyena. Could it be Asante?
He was almost sure of it. "Asante?" Kopa asked.
Asante looked around to see where the voice had come from and was surprised to see a familiar-looking lion at her left. "Kopa, is that really you?" she asked, in astonishment.
Kopa happily ran up to her. "I never thought I'd see you again!" he said. "Where've you been all these years?" Asante asked. "I never saw you even in the Pride Lands after... you know what happened."
"Right," Kopa said. "But I'm putting that behind me. I ran away from my parents, and I want to apologize to them. I'm sure they would accept you by now."
"I think so, too." Asante said. "A lot has happened around here since you left..."
As the due chatted, they had no idea that they were being stalked. Suddenly, they heard a growl, and looked up. A snicker, then a sinister laugh, occurred in the shrubs... and out jumped four leopards of all sizes and colors!
The leopards were Makucha, Chuluun, Jiona and Fahari, who had recently been defeated by Kion and were desperate for revenge. "What have we got here, Makucha?" Chuluun asked, as she and the other leopards began surrounding the lion and hyena. "I'm not sure, Chuluun." Makucha answered. "Looks like a couple of trespassers to me!"
"We didn't know this was your territory, honest!" Kopa explained. "Yes, we're awfully sorry." Asante tried to reason. "We're not finished with you yet!" Fahari exclaimed. "Think you can get away that easily?!"
The brawl started, with all 6 predators fiercely defending themselves. Makucha gave Kopa a sharp blow on his jaw, giving him a scar that would always be there. Asante was too weak to go on after a while. The leopards had overwhelmed her. She bid farewell to Kopa and told him to save himself.
Horrified, Kopa ran off towards the Pride Lands, his original destination. After he ran off, Asante mustered enough strength to fight Chuluun and seriously injure her, making the leopards finally back off. Once they left, Asante fell unconscious, but when she woke up, she began tracking Kopa's trail by his scent - at a much slower pace.
Kopa ran to the Pride Lands, making it there in about 2 hours. He was utterly exhausted by the time he arrived.
Many things had changed in the Pride Lands. A new Lion Guard, led by former Outsider lionesses, were the ones who spotted Kopa coming into the Pride Lands. They confronted him, and he told them his identity. All the lionesses in the Guard - Imara, Shabaha, Tazama and Kasi - believed Kopa, except for Vitani, Kovu's sister and the fiercest in the Guard.
Reluctantly, Vitani led Kopa to Simba and Nala. They were so glad to see their son after all these years. He apologized for his foolishness, and to Kopa's surprise, he was already forgiven by his parents.
Kopa finally got to see what he'd been missing. He met his younger sister, her mate, and was accepted warmly in the Pride Lands again. He couldn't be happier. Kion had recently moved to the Tree of Life to be with his wife, Rani, so him and Rani traveled back to the Pride Lands to meet his older brother, along with two cheetah friends. Kopa was glad to meet Kion, who went back to the Tree of Life after a week or so at the Pride Lands.
Kopa tried to be friendly with Vitani, but she was clearly uninterested in being his friend- until he saved her from a crocodile.
As time went on, Kopa found himself falling for Vitani, rough and tough as she was. She, too, began to fall in love with him. Then Asante suddenly returned and explained everything that happened to her. She noticed Kopa's feelings for Vitani and gave him some helpful advice, while Vitani watched suspiciously.
After a while, the wise hyena bid farewell to her old friend, not wanting to get in the way of Kopa and Vitani's friendship. Asante went back to the Outlands, where she became a helper for the rulers there, Janja and Jasiri.
Kopa confessed loving Vitani, and she did with him. They were married at the Tree of Life and had two cubs 5 months later.
Kopa had found his place.
The End.
Author's Note[]
I seriously changed up some things in my "headcanon" and this story so everything would make more sense. I edited chapters of my first fanfiction, "TLK - Kopa and Vitani: Unexpected Love" to make things of better quality. This story serves as a mostly Prologue for that fanfiction.