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Description
Next: www.deviantart.com/irete/art/M…
Cover: irete.deviantart.com/art/MotP-…

Read the Marks of The Past series from the beginning here: Marks of the past - Cover

Vizuri took a deep breath as she spotted some of her old playmates in the distance started to approach them. One male and one female, Kahawia and Neema where her own age. Then a younger one named Jinga, who was Kahawia’s cousin. She wouldn’t say she knew them very well or that they were that close. But they had played together occasional as cubs and still got along decently these days. Maybe a little less so when it came to Neema, who Vizuri had a few disagreements with over the years. But nothing they held grudges over.

“Come on, just get going!" she scolded herself.
“It’s about damn time that you pull yourself together and get a life again.” And why not start out with some easy mingling?

In the past, Vizuri would have no problem associating with her peers. Sure, some may think she was a little too venturous. And, yeah sure she had ended up getting a few into trouble once or twice… maybe more. Which some of her peers would find annoying. But for most of the time she got along with other cubs and teens.

However, recently things had changed drastically. After Simba died, Vizuri had a hard time processing all that had happened... and the revelation about herself.
For almost as long as she could remember, there had been a contrast in how the adults treated her. Some adults didn’t treat her much different than other cubs. But there had also been those who seemed … wary of her, some few even straight out paranoid. Small incidents here and there that had happened and Vizuri had never known the cause of it. Until about half a year ago...

Her grandfather had become ill. Memory-sickness, Rafiki had called it. It was something that could happened to really old animals and that affected their minds. In particular their ability to orient memories. It had turned out Simba was no exception to this and it had only become worse as time went on. Then at one of his bad days, Simba had in his confusion spilled the first bean.

Zira!
His words had marked themselves into her skull as much as his claws when he later struck at her.
Then he had died. Falling of the highest peak of Pride Rock.

Vizuri shivered inside as she recalled Simba slipping over the edge and his body breaking like an egg on the cliff below.

That night, she had finally demanded that her parents would tell her the truth. And eventually they had. The pride’s odd behavior around her then finally made sense, along with her grandfather’s outburst before he had died. Apparently, she looked a lot like her grandmother, the one she had never met. The one that everyone said was the main cause for the war between the Pride Lands and the outsiders. Her father’s mother, Zira.

The only things Vizuri knew about Zira and the time before the prides united was what had been told in stories and lore. While it was not describes as miserable as Scar’s reign, it was still considered a dark chapter in the Pride Land’s history. The pride had been living under a constant threat of war and fear of losing loved ones that came too close to the border of the outlands. It was not a time the older lions thought back of fondly.

The revelation had at first confused Vizuri, since she had seen a few paintings of Zira and had seen few resembles between herself and the paintings. But her parents had explained that those images had been changed. Not wanting her to grow up being compered to a villain of the past, they had requested Rafiki to change the paintings around Pride Rock and forbid the adults from telling the younger generation about Zira's true appearance. All to give her a happy childhood free of prejudices, at least from her peers.

Then, shortly after Simba’s death, her grandmother had become ill and Vizuri had kept herself busy by looking after her last remaining grandparent. But to no avail. Nala had slowly wittered away until finally, she too joined the kings and queens of the past. But weeks had passed since then and Vizuri had decided it was time for her to move on. Ever since her grandparent’s deaths, she had mostly kept to herself. Even if she mourned her grandparents, the last convention she had with her dying grandmother had given her some hope.

While Vizuri had never been a moody lioness, after discovering the narrow-minded way the pride members viewed her, a seed of bitterness had been planted in her mind. But Nala had been right, she would do herself no favor by becoming a sulking loner and let the darkness eat her up from inside until it finally destroyed her.

Today she planned to start breaking that circle. Or at least putting a first crack in it .
The other youngsters hadn’t spotted her yet. Partly she guessed because of the vegetation, but also because they seemed to be in the middle of a lively conversion.
She walked closer and took a breath to reveal herself to them-

“Do you guys think it’s true?”

Vizuri paused her greeting and instead listened. Remaning unseen along the bushes.

“Oh, don’t be silly! Zira is dead and when you die, you stay that way. There is no coming back.”

“Well, maybe it’s something in it.” Kahawia said. “Some say it looked like Vizuri pushed of Simba from pride rock that day. Sure, I know Vizuri isn’t the type to do such things. But Zira is her grandmother and maybe Zira's spirit was seeking revenge-”

“Seriously!” Neema interrupted. “You two sound like couple of superstitious old hags. If you really believe in such tales, then lions who dies turns into stars or get trapped in fire. If Zira still exists on some plane, it will most likely be in flames.”

The gray teenager then sigh and looked away from the other two. “Sure, Vizuri can be a pain sometimes. Impulsive, reckless, never thinks before acting... But she is not a bad person. Still, I’m worried. I think this whole indecent hit her the worst and if you push someone who is unstable… Well, the dam is going to burst sooner or later. So try to watch you words, at least around the royals. Ok?”

The eyes of other two feel to the ground. “Yeah... I guess you’re right. I would be really sad too if my grandma died.” Kahawia admitted.

Vizuri then started to turn away from the group and go back the same way she had came, her determination blown away like dust in the wind. This wasn’t the first time she overheard whispers about her and speculations of what had happened the day Simba had died. While a part of her was glad that Neema at least knew better than to believe the rumors. Still, they saw her as a sleeping volcano ready to erupt. Which in Vizuri’s mind, wasn’t much different from those who expected her to turn into a ghost of the past.

Either way, she was sick of everyone tiptoeing around her. Why couldn't they all just move on and let her pick up her life where she left it?!
But inside Vizuri knew that it didn't work like that. Things would never be the same again, she would simply have to pick up the shards and glue them back together the best she could.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Here it is finally.
Originally I meant to start on this part straight after the comic, but then "Hearts of Three" happen and I ended up doing that one first. xD
But that story has a purpose to this one as well since Aina and Jamili will turn up later.

This part was a little frustrated to write since I kept getting sidetracked and putting way too much focus on detail that had happen in the comic.
Which would just have been pointless since those who read this I assume have also read the comic and didn't need that info . A big chunk of it is still flashbacks, but instead of repeats, I tried to use it to explain details that wasn't mentioned in the comic.

When it comes to the picture, I think it became ok. The colors of the background could have been better. But I'm really happy with how the bushes turned out.

English is my second language and I have done my best to find misspells and grammars.
But feel free to correct wrongs if you see them as long as you are polite about it.

Description
Next: www.deviantart.com/irete/art/M…
Cover: irete.deviantart.com/art/MotP-…

Read the Marks of The Past series from the beginning here: Marks of the past - Cover

Vizuri took a deep breath as she spotted some of her old playmates in the distance started to approach them. One male and one female, Kahawia and Neema where her own age. Then a younger one named Jinga, who was Kahawia’s cousin. She wouldn’t say she knew them very well or that they were that close. But they had played together occasional as cubs and still got along decently these days. Maybe a little less so when it came to Neema, who Vizuri had a few disagreements with over the years. But nothing they held grudges over.

“Come on, just get going!" she scolded herself.
“It’s about damn time that you pull yourself together and get a life again.” And why not start out with some easy mingling?

In the past, Vizuri would have no problem associating with her peers. Sure, some may think she was a little too venturous. And, yeah sure she had ended up getting a few into trouble once or twice… maybe more. Which some of her peers would find annoying. But for most of the time she got along with other cubs and teens.

However, recently things had changed drastically. After Simba died, Vizuri had a hard time processing all that had happened... and the revelation about herself.
For almost as long as she could remember, there had been a contrast in how the adults treated her. Some adults didn’t treat her much different than other cubs. But there had also been those who seemed … wary of her, some few even straight out paranoid. Small incidents here and there that had happened and Vizuri had never known the cause of it. Until about half a year ago...

Her grandfather had become ill. Memory-sickness, Rafiki had called it. It was something that could happened to really old animals and that affected their minds. In particular their ability to orient memories. It had turned out Simba was no exception to this and it had only become worse as time went on. Then at one of his bad days, Simba had in his confusion spilled the first bean.

Zira!
His words had marked themselves into her skull as much as his claws when he later struck at her.
Then he had died. Falling of the highest peak of Pride Rock.

Vizuri shivered inside as she recalled Simba slipping over the edge and his body breaking like an egg on the cliff below.

That night, she had finally demanded that her parents would tell her the truth. And eventually they had. The pride’s odd behavior around her then finally made sense, along with her grandfather’s outburst before he had died. Apparently, she looked a lot like her grandmother, the one she had never met. The one that everyone said was the main cause for the war between the Pride Lands and the outsiders. Her father’s mother, Zira.

The only things Vizuri knew about Zira and the time before the prides united was what had been told in stories and lore. While it was not describes as miserable as Scar’s reign, it was still considered a dark chapter in the Pride Land’s history. The pride had been living under a constant threat of war and fear of losing loved ones that came too close to the border of the outlands. It was not a time the older lions thought back of fondly.

The revelation had at first confused Vizuri, since she had seen a few paintings of Zira and had seen few resembles between herself and the paintings. But her parents had explained that those images had been changed. Not wanting her to grow up being compered to a villain of the past, they had requested Rafiki to change the paintings around Pride Rock and forbid the adults from telling the younger generation about Zira's true appearance. All to give her a happy childhood free of prejudices, at least from her peers.

Then, shortly after Simba’s death, her grandmother had become ill and Vizuri had kept herself busy by looking after her last remaining grandparent. But to no avail. Nala had slowly wittered away until finally, she too joined the kings and queens of the past. But weeks had passed since then and Vizuri had decided it was time for her to move on. Ever since her grandparent’s deaths, she had mostly kept to herself. Even if she mourned her grandparents, the last convention she had with her dying grandmother had given her some hope.

While Vizuri had never been a moody lioness, after discovering the narrow-minded way the pride members viewed her, a seed of bitterness had been planted in her mind. But Nala had been right, she would do herself no favor by becoming a sulking loner and let the darkness eat her up from inside until it finally destroyed her.

Today she planned to start breaking that circle. Or at least putting a first crack in it .
The other youngsters hadn’t spotted her yet. Partly she guessed because of the vegetation, but also because they seemed to be in the middle of a lively conversion.
She walked closer and took a breath to reveal herself to them-

“Do you guys think it’s true?”

Vizuri paused her greeting and instead listened. Remaning unseen along the bushes.

“Oh, don’t be silly! Zira is dead and when you die, you stay that way. There is no coming back.”

“Well, maybe it’s something in it.” Kahawia said. “Some say it looked like Vizuri pushed of Simba from pride rock that day. Sure, I know Vizuri isn’t the type to do such things. But Zira is her grandmother and maybe Zira's spirit was seeking revenge-”

“Seriously!” Neema interrupted. “You two sound like couple of superstitious old hags. If you really believe in such tales, then lions who dies turns into stars or get trapped in fire. If Zira still exists on some plane, it will most likely be in flames.”

The gray teenager then sigh and looked away from the other two. “Sure, Vizuri can be a pain sometimes. Impulsive, reckless, never thinks before acting... But she is not a bad person. Still, I’m worried. I think this whole indecent hit her the worst and if you push someone who is unstable… Well, the dam is going to burst sooner or later. So try to watch you words, at least around the royals. Ok?”

The eyes of other two feel to the ground. “Yeah... I guess you’re right. I would be really sad too if my grandma died.” Kahawia admitted.

Vizuri then started to turn away from the group and go back the same way she had came, her determination blown away like dust in the wind. This wasn’t the first time she overheard whispers about her and speculations of what had happened the day Simba had died. While a part of her was glad that Neema at least knew better than to believe the rumors. Still, they saw her as a sleeping volcano ready to erupt. Which in Vizuri’s mind, wasn’t much different from those who expected her to turn into a ghost of the past.

Either way, she was sick of everyone tiptoeing around her. Why couldn't they all just move on and let her pick up her life where she left it?!
But inside Vizuri knew that it didn't work like that. Things would never be the same again, she would simply have to pick up the shards and glue them back together the best she could.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Here it is finally.
Originally I meant to start on this part straight after the comic, but then "Hearts of Three" happen and I ended up doing that one first. xD
But that story has a purpose to this one as well since Aina and Jamili will turn up later.

This part was a little frustrated to write since I kept getting sidetracked and putting way too much focus on detail that had happen in the comic.
Which would just have been pointless since those who read this I assume have also read the comic and didn't need that info . A big chunk of it is still flashbacks, but instead of repeats, I tried to use it to explain details that wasn't mentioned in the comic.

When it comes to the picture, I think it became ok. The colors of the background could have been better. But I'm really happy with how the bushes turned out.

English is my second language and I have done my best to find misspells and grammars.
But feel free to correct wrongs if you see them as long as you are polite about it.